Kenny and Max respond to a report of a rape and find a man and woman fighting. Under pressure from Kenny, the man says that it was she who raped him. Following a probable cause hearing, Judge Bone advises the district attorney and Wambaugh to reach a plea bargain. The woman gets a year sentence, suspended, after pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault. Local businesswoman Rachel Harris is sworn in as mayor and she and Jimmy clash over her plans for his office. Max's former therapist manipulates her into dropping charges and they enter into a sexual relationship.

Max lets a drunk driver continue the short distance to her home, but the woman is involved in an accident that leaves the other drive paralyzed. The situation is complicated by Wambaugh's advice to the drunk driver to drink some Scotch to "calm her nerves," and Max's relationship with her therapist. The mayor accuses Jimmy of having problems with having a woman as his boss.

Jill and Zack are among the hostages taken by a group of bank robbers led by a deaf woman (Marlee Matlin) who calls herself "the Dancing Bandit." Jimmy works with the FBI to stop the standoff, but the group proves far craftier than anyone expected.

A young woman in a coma following a car accident is found to be four months' pregnant, despite being a virgin. When her father seeks an abortion to try to save her life, the town's Catholic and Protestant clergy intervene, citing possible divine causation. Matthew tells Zack that there is no Santa Claus.

Jill testifies for a man suffering from a rare neurological disorder that distorts vision after he is arrested for the shooting death of his brother. Dr. Vernon Leaky, a specialist on the condition, shows a romantic interest in Ginny. Maxine learns that Kenny and Rachel are having an affair.

A locker search for drugs at the local high school leads to the arrest of Kimberly's best friend, Lisa Fenn. Meanwhile, a protected Federal witness turns up in Rome which leaves Sheriff Brock and his force concerned. Also, Carter has a melancholy reunion with his brother when he arrives in Rome for the funeral of their mother.

Jill is arrested after she performs surgery on a woman whose Christian Science beliefs prohibit medical intervention. Zach wants to convert to Judaism because Jews do not believe in hell.

Matthew's attempts to get revenge for a humiliation by some high-school bullies by threatening them with a gun takes an unexpected turn, which lands one of them in the hospital and Matthew in jail for attempted murder. Meanwhile, Mayor Harris' decision to roll back deputy salaries inspires a round of "blue flu" with Kenny and Maxine.

Littleton and Wambaugh go head to head again in the courtroom as Wambaugh argues that his latest client, Timmy Hendricks, was predisposed to violence because of his exposure to television and movies. Meanwhile, Sheriff Brock reacts with anger against Mayor Harris' attempts to impose a strong police presence in Rome, including fingerprinting all the citizens and random searches of vehicles for weapons.

Howard Buss's son Kevin will die without a heart transplant so Howard, suffering from Alzheimer's disease, seeks a court order to allow him the right to assisted suicide so he can give his heart to his son. Frank the Potato Man sues the town for a place to live, claiming an implied social contract.

Valentine's Day brings romance to many members of the community. Maxine helps Carter woo Stacy Halford, a local widow. Kimberly and her boyfriend find they have different attitudes regarding sexual-consent guidelines, and Zack takes a dare and kisses his girlfriend only to find himself in trouble.

A 25-year-old softcore pornographic video of Mayor Rachel Harris surfaces. The town clergy lead a movement to remove her from office. Howard Buss, as senior member of the town council, becomes acting mayor.

Kimberly is kidnapped and held hostage by a man (Louis Gossett, Jr.) who wants revenge over her father, Sheriff Brock.

A 500-pound woman confesses to murdering her husband by sitting on his head. Douglas Wambaugh is expelled from his synagogue and seeks a ruling in a Jewish religious court to be reinstated.

A high-profile murder trial in which the defendant is accused of murdering two police officers is transferred to Rome. Sheriff Brock winds up as the foreman of the jury that must decide the defendant's fate.

Max arrests Jill's father. The Brocks invite her to dinner in hopes of smoothing things over but end up confronting their own issues with each other as well.

The town learns of Father Gary Barrett's fetish for women's shoes following a fire in the church rectory. Matthew has been having sexual fantasies and he fears his sexual feelings are a sin.

The parents of a boy dying of leukemia seek a court order to allow them to place the child in cryonic suspension.

Howard Buss' Alzheimer's disease worsens and his anguished son Kevin shoots him to death. Kevin is put on trial for murder.