In the series premiere, Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), a politician's wife, resumes her career as a defense attorney after her husband is jailed for corruption. Her first case is the retrial of a woman accused of murdering her spouse. The first trial ended with the jury deadlocked. Alicia is told by her new boss to stick with the firm's original strategy, but she decides not to do so when more evidence surfaces.
A stripper claims she was raped at a prominent businessman's bachelor party, and Alicia represents her in a civil trial after the state's attorney refuses to pursue criminal charges. At home, Alicia's kids receive compromising photos of their dad with another woman.
Alicia returns to her old upscale neighborhood to defend a former friend's teen son, who is accused of murdering a security guard at a friend's house. The 18-year-old man admits he was at the home but claims he's innocent of the crime. Cary is assigned to help Alicia with the case, even though he has never tried one in court.
Alicia discovers evidence that a juror may have been bribed with $35,000 in a class-action lawsuit against a major pharmaceutical company. Alicia's client was paralyzed after taking one of the company's drugs. Meanwhile, Peter's lawyer tries to get Alicia to help in her husband's defense and attempts to bribe her with gifts.
Alicia defends the widows of three train engineers who are blamed by their company for a deadly crash. She has 72 hours to prove that the train company is at fault or the women will lose their husbands' pensions. Meanwhile, Kalinda digs into the background of a potential partner in the firm who is seeing Diane, and Peter suspects that Alicia is being unfaithful. Martha Plimpton guest stars.
Alicia works on an appeal for a death-row inmate jailed six years ago for killing an off-duty police officer during the robbery of a grocery store. Peter has vital information about the case and Alicia agrees to a conjugal visit with him to obtain it. But things don't go quite as Peter planned.
Alicia serves as co-counsel to a handsome storefront lawyer (Chris Bowers) who is defending an Orthodox Jewish couple being sued in a slip-and-fall case. Alicia is assigned because one of the defendants is a law partner's daughter. The victim claims she was badly injured when she tripped on a wire outside of the couple's house, but Alicia believes the incident may be a scam. Meanwhile, Will and Diane make a round of layoffs at the firm.
Alicia defends a scientist accused of arson after the lab the woman works in is torched. It's soon learned that the scientist is the target of a hate group. Meanwhile, Alicia is asked to testify on her husband's behalf at his bail hearing, but she is uncertain if she wants him to return home; and Zach becomes determined to uncover the identity of the person who is leaving damaging photos and DVDs at the Florrick's front door.
Alicia represents the firm's senior partner after he is arrested for DUI and assaulting a police officer, and she must deal with the murky office politics that come with the case. Meanwhile, Chelsea Handler interviews Peter's mistress, who is promoting a tell-all book about her affair with Peter.