| Just Cause | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Gail Morgan Hickman Jacqueline Zambrano |
| Written by | Gail Morgan Hickman Jacqueline Zambrano |
| Starring | Elizabeth Lackey Shaun Benson Richard Thomas Khaira Ledeyo Mark Hildreth Jason Schombing Roger R. Cross |
| Opening theme | Two Trains by Sue Foley |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 22 + Pilot |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Gail Morgan Hickman Jacqueline Zambrano |
| Production locations | San Francisco, California |
| Running time | 60 minutes (with commercials) |
| Production companies | Paxson Entertainment W Network Mind's Eye Entertainment |
| Original release | |
| Network | W Network (Canada) PAX TV (USA) |
| Release | September 15, 2002[1] |
Just Cause is a Canadian legal drama television series produced by Mind's Eye Entertainment. Filming was done in Vancouver, British Columbia but the series is set in San Francisco, California.
Five years ago, Alexandra DeMonaco (Elizabeth Lackey) went to prison for a crime she didn't commit. Unaware that her no-good husband was running a medical insurance scam, she became a scapegoat for a publicity-hungry District Attorney, while her husband disappeared with five million dollars and their daughter.
Instead of wasting time on self-pity while incarcerated, Alex goes to law school on the internet and gets her law degree. Now out on parole, she has two goals: to find her daughter and to become a lawyer. But a convicted felon can't practice law. So Alex goes to Hamilton Whitney III (Richard Thomas), a successful, well-respected San Francisco attorney, who also happens to be a friend of the governor. Alex wants Whitney to help her petition the governor for a pardon. To pay her way, she goes to work in Whitney's law firm as an office assistant. Her sassy, brash personality bumps hard against Whitney's stuffy, reserved Waspyness, and their relationship is not always smooth.
Their view of the law is different as well. Whitney is more interested in how much his well-heeled clients are willing to pay, while Alex is determined to use the law to help people like herself who have been abandoned by the system. Gradually Alex's idealism wins Whitney over. Now they work together to champion underdog cases and achieve justice for the less powerful.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | Bill Corcoran | Jacqueline Zambrano & Gail Morgan Hickman | September 15, 2002 |
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | "Human Trials" | Rob King | Raymond Hartung | September 22, 2002 |
| 4 | "Above the Law" | Holly Dale | David Abramowitz | September 29, 2002 |
| 5 | "Lama Hunt" | Rob King | Laurence Frank | October 6, 2002 |
| 6 | "Tanya with an O" | John L'Ecuyer | Thorn McShane | October 22, 2002 |
| 7 | "Code of Silence" | Ken Jubenvill | Greenville Case | November 3, 2002 |
| 8 | "Bet Your Life" | Unknown | Unknown | November 4, 2002 |
| 9 | "Making News" | Unknown | Unknown | November 11, 2002 |
| 10 | "The Last to Know" | Unknown | Unknown | November 18, 2002 |
| 11 | "Fading Star" | Unknown | Unknown | November 25, 2002 |
| 12 | "Wives of Christmas Past" | Unknown | Unknown | December 9, 2002 |
| 13 | "Death's Details" | Unknown | Unknown | January 12, 2003 |
| 14 | "Dream House" | Unknown | Unknown | February 2, 2003 |
| 15 | "Buried Past" | Unknown | Unknown | February 9, 2003 |
| 16 | "Dying to Be Thin" | Unknown | Unknown | February 16, 2003 |
| 17 | "Lies, Speculations and Deception" | Unknown | Unknown | February 23, 2003 |
| 18 | "Hide and Seek" | Unknown | Unknown | March 30, 2003 |
| 19 | "Reasonable Doubts" | Unknown | Unknown | April 27, 2003 |
| 20 | "Blackboard Jungle" | Unknown | Unknown | May 4, 2003 |
| 21 | "Trial by Memory" | Unknown | Unknown | May 11, 2003 |
| 22 | "The Closing" | Unknown | Unknown | May 18, 2003 |
Helen Shaver won a Gemini Award for Best Director in a Dramatic Series for her work on the episode "Death's Details", and Richard Schwadel won the Leo award for Best Picture Editing on the episode "Above the Law".
Additionally, it was nominated for another Gemini and Leo, and a Directors Guild of Canada award.
