Defending Jacob - S1

Assistant District Attorney Neal Loguidice questions Andy Barber before a grand jury. Months earlier, Andy is himself a respected ADA and lives a content, suburban life with his wife Laurie and their 14-year old son Jacob in Newton, Massachusetts. When a classmate of Jacob's, Ben Rifkin, is found stabbed to death in the park near their middle school, Andy is assigned the case over Loguidice's objections that Andy's presence could present a conflict of interest. Andy and Detective Pam Duffy question students at the school, but are unable to discern a motive for the murder. While questioning Jacob privately about Ben, Jacob tells Andy and Laurie that Ben was unlikable and later expresses frustration to Andy over the exaggerated false sympathy from his classmates over Ben's death. Duffy discovers a possible suspect, Leonard Patz, a convicted sexual predator, but Andy is advised against bringing him in until they find solid evidence. That night, Andy discovers an online message board memorializing Ben and becomes disturbed after reading a series of comments, including one from Jacob's friend Derek, accusing Jacob of murdering Ben. Andy searches Jacob's room and finds a knife fitting the description of the murder weapon hidden in a sock in his drawer.

Andy and Laurie confront Jacob about the knife and message board. Jacob insists he never used the knife and that the comments are meaningless. Andy disposes of the knife. The police bring in Leonard Patz for questioning but are unable to implicate him in the murder and he is released. A short time later, District Attorney Lynn Canavan tells Andy that the lone fingerprint found on Ben's body belongs to Jacob and that Jacob has become the prime suspect in the case. Canavan informs Andy that he has been removed from the case and Andy becomes upset when he learns that Loguidice has been assigned to prosecute in his place. The police obtain a search warrant and search the Barber home. On the way home from school, Jacob sees police outside the house and, clearly spooked, runs away. When eventually found by a police officer, he insists that he is innocent, but reveals that he found Ben's body the morning of his death and didn't tell anyone as he was afraid he would get blamed for it. Andy and Laurie learn that Jacob will be held overnight in jail before his arraignment the following morning. Meanwhile at a diner, Leonard Patz looks through a photo album on his phone that is filled with photos of Ben Rifkin before deleting them.

Andy and Laurie hire Joanna Klein, a colleague of Andy's and an experienced defense lawyer, to represent Jacob, and Jacob is allowed to go home on bail. Andy and Laurie restrict Jacob from accessing social media to keep him away from the media's coverage of the case. Andy is haunted by flashbacks of his childhood and reveals to Laurie that his father, whom Andy has said abandoned his family when Andy was only a baby, is in fact a convicted murderer. Laurie begins to crack under the weight of the case: she is sent home on temporary leave from her job as director of a children's home, their garage is vandalized, and her best friend cuts off contact with her. Without telling Andy, she researches his father’s murder conviction, and has old newspaper clippings about the case delivered to the house under a pseudonym. Andy, insistent that Leonard Patz is the true suspect, convinces Duffy to send him Patz's file. Joanna sends Laurie and Andy to Dr. Vogel, a psychiatrist specializing in behavioral science and genetics, to prepare them for the chance the prosecution may use the so-called "murder gene" as an argument. While Andy remembers Jacob as a normally behaved child, Laurie recalls that Jacob was difficult and sometimes aggressive toward his parents and other children; Andy is upset that Laurie would imply Jacob is capable of violence, but Laurie insists she does not doubt Jacob's innocence. Sarah, one of Jacob's classmates, calls Detective Duffy and tells her that she has information on Ben's murder.

Andy visits the home of a teenager, Matt, who accused Leonard Patz of sexually assaulting him. Andy attempts to question Matt but the visit turns confrontational and Matt's defensive behaviour leads Andy to believe he's hiding something. Later, Andy follows Patz to his apartment and takes note of his address. At home, Andy is pleased to find Sarah visiting Jacob; later that night, Jacob tells him that Sarah believes Derek killed Ben and that the police conducted a second interview with Derek. Privately, Jacob creates a secret Instagram account despite his parents' rules banning him from social media. Meanwhile, Laurie is becoming increasingly unstable, spying on her former coworkers and lying to Andy about having dinner with a friend when she actually ate alone at a diner. At the diner, she is approached by a friendly woman whom she confides in; when the woman reveals herself to be a freelance writer working on a story for The Boston Globe's Sunday Magazine, Laurie leaves in a panic without insisting her comments were given off the record and does not tell Andy about the incident. Dr. Vogel conducts multiple tests to determine any psychopathic tendencies in Jacob and takes a DNA sample from Andy. Dr. Vogel reveals that they also need a DNA sample from Andy's father, but that he will only provide a sample if Andy obtains it himself. Andy, despite his anger and fear of his father, agrees.

Andy visits his father, and learns some troubling information from Jacob's friends Derek and Sarah.

Andy and Klein explore two last-ditch efforts to prove Jacob's innocence.

As the trial begins, Jacob's fate hangs in the balance.

Series finale. The trial comes to an end, but with unexpected consequences.