Reed Hadley is Bart Matthews, your Public Defender, in this series of law and order dramas that ran on CBS from 1954 to 1955. At the time of the show's creation (by Mort Lewis and Sam Shayon), the concept of the public defender was little known throughout much of the United States. Stories were purportedly based on true cases, and each episode ends with a salute to a working public defender.
Bart Matthews (Hadley) takes on clients that cannot afford expensive legal counsel. Young or old, innocent or guilty, the law comes first for the stoic and driven public defender. Hadley previously starred in the television series "Racket Squad" (1953-1954) and is fondly remembered for playing the title role in the action-packed Republic serial Zorro's Fighting Legion (1939).
The Ring: Matthews enters the strange, dark world of carnival sideshows when an exotic carny worker is charged with grand theft.
Operation Please: Law enforcement agencies from the U.S. and Mexico join forces after the public defenders' office uncovers a car theft ring that is connected to drug trafficking.
Love And Conscience: A lovesick truck driver is wrongly implicated in a hijacking. Feeling sympathy for him, Matthews does all he can to prove the man's innocence.
In The Line Of Duty: Public Defender Holt must defend a boy who stands accused of assaulting Holt's longtime friend and mentor.