When Nicholas Baron, a well known mobster, is accused of murdering one of his rivals, he asks Ben Matlock to represent him. Ben initially refuses, but agrees to represent Baron despite threats on his own life. He soon meets the entire family, and realises that despite what Baron has always done for a living, at heart he's a worried father who wants to clear his name.

Even though they've lost a key witness, Matlock keeps defending Nicholas Baron. Daniel tries to convince Matlock that his father just can't handle any stress due to his heart condition, but Nicholas continues to beg Matlock to clear his name. While Matlock investigates a suspect closer to home than Baron would want, Charlene blows her chance at a relationship with Paul when she can't separate the man from the legend.

As a young child, Allison Tate had discovered the bodies of her parents, apparently killed by an intruder. Shortly after her twenty-first birthday, she found the body of Marsha Gold, killed in a similar matter. When this thrust her back into the Linder Sanitarium in which she'd spent most of her life since her parents murdered, Bob Ranier (her father's former business partner, like an uncle to her) hires Matlock to prove that Allison is innocent of her murder. Matlock has an unlikely ally in Warren Kreitzer, an insurance attorney who is supposed to be on vacation, but will do whatever he can to protect Allison.

When Matlock's new neighbor, Les 'Ace' Calhoun, is charged with murdering the used car salesman who sold him a lemon, Matlock takes the case to prove that more than one person had a motive, and that Les is not the guilty party.

When the manager of a thoroughbred farm is murdered, her father begs Matlock to represent the mentally handicapped man accused of the crime.

When legendary blues singer Eddie Haynes is charged with murder, Matlock agrees to defend a man he once idolized. Haynes swears that the young rock star he's accused of killing was going to write him a hit song, and Matlock soon realises that there is no shortage of people who wanted the charismatic young musician dead.

Matlock agrees to defend aging clown Homer Fleming after he's charged with the murder of his long-time partner, Simon. After asking Conrad to go undercover as a roustabout at the circus, Matlock starts to realise that everyone had a very good reason to hate Simon Le Simple.

After he's conned by a group of con men, Brian Davis is accused of murdering one of them. Matlock agrees to take on the case, and while Michelle tries to get close to one of the remaining con artists, Matlock tries to prove that a previous scheme is responsible for the current predicament.

A call girl blackmails her employer to stay on the payroll, and when one of them winds up dead, it's Matlock to the rescue.

When a gambler is accused of killing his bookie, Matlock agrees to take the case, believing that someone from the bookie's past is the guilty party.

Matlock sends Conrad to Chicago to collect the evidence that will prove his client is innocent.

Ben defends a one time movie queen who is now a cosmetics mogul who is accused of murdering her ex-lover to prevent the publication of some revealing photos of her.

Serial killer Jeffrey Speidel strangles his victims. When Matlock gets inovlved in the case, Speidel makes a point of turning Matlock into his next target...his goal is to ruin Matlock publicly before killing him.

While dining with Julie, a chance meeting with a woman causes Ben to relate the story of his investigation, many years earlier, of a widow that Ben's father (played by Andy Griffith) believes may have been involved with the death of his friend - her husband.

After much persuasion, Matlock agrees to help his disagreeable cousin locate her erstwhile husband, using a doctored photograph to help find him.

Matlock successfully defends his cousin on charges of murder, but when it's all said and done, he still can't stand the woman.

Michelle helps an insurance investigator prove that a man killed his wealthy wife to collect on the insurance money.

The nephew of an eccentric millionaire is accused of murdering his uncle after they were seen arguing and Cliff is sent to work in the uncles' zoo in order to gather information to exonerate him. Meanwhile, Billy persuades Ben to defend him in court after he becomes involved in an investment scheme gone awry.

Duncan and Clara Farmington seemed to have the perfect marriage. Now they want to have the perfect divorce. What starts out as a simple division of property turns nasty as Leanne represents the wife and Ben the husband. At the same time, a scam artist tries to sue Matlock for millions after injuring himself on Matlock's property.

Matlock refuses to believe that a young piano player committed suicide, nor does the father of the girl who hires Matlock to find out what really happened.

Leanne falls for Matlock's new client, a philanthropist accused of murdering his business partner.

A stealer is accused of murdering the man who closed the book on his thefts.

An eccentric millionare tells Matlock that he couldn't solve the perfect murder if it were handed to him on a silver platter. To prove his point, he kills Matlock's friend, detective Bob Brooks, and successfully frames another man for the crime.

Matlock takes the case of an ex-convict when he's arrested for robbing a bank he had robbed years before. Matt Ahern saw the whole thing, but the young boy isn't willing to tell the truth unless Matlock promises to get his father out of jail.

Katie Clark is a hot new prosecutor in town, fresh from St. Louis, but originally from Atlanta. Her first case involves prosecuting a building contractor who has been accused of murdering one of his employees, who just happens to be Clark's former lover. Despite his reservations about Clark prosecuting a former lover, Matlock agrees to let her continue on the case, impressed by her desire to not allow her personal past with Gibson to affect her judgment.

Matlock and Jerri head out to the beach with Billy and Cliff as Cliff prepares for an upcoming triathlon. Once there, Matlock is surprised to run into retired F.B.I. agent Ed Wingate, who is investigating a case of his own. While Matlock keeps himself busy occasionally running into Ed, Cliff throws himself into the competition, and Billy throws himself at Anita Montrose, the real estate agent who rented them the beach house they're staying at. When one of the people Ed is investigating is found dead, Matlock agrees to defend his old friend.

While at a triathlon, Matlock runs into a former client, a retired FBI agent trying to solve an old case.