Representing the governor, Stuart Collins offers Amy a chance to apply for an appellate court appointment if she'll rule against two women who both want to be named as the mother on their baby's birth certificate; Maxine's friend Vivian gets to see social work in action when her girls-day-out with Maxine gets derailed by a struggling and overworked farmer who believes that his kids should be at home working on the family dairy farm rather than at school; a mourning Gillian finds solace from an online support group when Peter offers her none; Vincent becomes concerned about his finances when he learns that Carole has quite a nest egg; Amy apologizes to Rob, and they reconcile.

Donna stumbles as she subs for Bruce as Amy's C.S.O. while he attempts to convince the probation officer of a teenager that Amy assigned to a diversionary program to keep the boy out of prison after a fight with members of his former gang; Maxine's nephew Kyle comes back into the family fold, much to Amy's displeasure; Amy must decide whether to commit a young boy who stole a rifle and slaughtered a yak as part of a coming-of-age ritual to a locked psychiatric facility, or turn him over to the sentencing circle of his Native American tribe; Kyle's medical knowledge helps Maxine solve the mystery of why five boys from an exemplary foster home have severe abrasions on their arms.

Maxine is saddened when Jared fails to call her upon his return from China, so Sean arranges a casino night fund raiser to cheer her up; a born-again teenager charges her mother with parental neglect for working as a stripper, and Amy must decide whether to place the girl in foster care; Donna confronts Kyle after she finds a syringe and morphine in his room drawers and is relieved to hear that he keeps it as a reminder that he is capable of making the choice to stay clean every day; after his daughter tells him about her ill-timed encounter with Bruce, David Solomon files a complaint against Andrea, who immediately ends her relationship with Bruce for fear of losing custody; responding to a message from Bruce attempting to explain the situation, Solomon shows up at the courthouse and threatens, taunts and insults Bruce, who is arrested and jailed after he knocks Solomon to the ground with a punch.

Amy must decide if a little girl in the middle of a bitter custody dispute is being molested by her father; doing research for a paper, Donna shadows Maxine during a day in which she deals with the neglected children of a severely depressed mother who refuses treatment; Kyle receives an unwelcome visit from his mother and sister; after employing a private investigator to follow Amy for over a year, Michael sues for full custody of Lauren; the decorator that Amy hires to redo the kitchen disparages Maxine's taste.

Maxine takes a chance in placing a young boy about to be released from juvenile detention back with his formerly negligent mother; Amy substitutes for another judge in criminal court and soon realizes that she has a prior relationship with each of the attorneys in the arson case she's been assigned; Kyle and Heather give their relationship another try; Amy buys David a new pair of shoes to replace the ones she ruined, and he asks her out on another date, which goes quite well; after Maxine decides to hire Ignacio to work on their yard, he insists that he needs to know her better before he can create a garden that's perfect for her, and they go out dancing together.

Amy learns that she is pregnant with David's baby after taking a home pregnancy test, resulting in David returning from his sailing trip to discuss with Amy their future together and what they mean to each other; Maxine's first case back since her heart-attack involves a seventeen year old single father; Amy presides over a case involving a boy who stabs his teacher; Vincent and Crystal take a ten year old prostitute to the hospital after being beaten up by her pimp.