The Trials of Cate McCall 2013

Cate McCall Kate Beckinsale is a lawyer who is an alcoholic in recovery, on probation, and estranged from her family. To regain custody of her young daughter and be reinstated to the bar, she takes on a pro bono appeal for a woman, Lacey, Anna Schafer who has been convicted of murder. With the help of her assistant, Cate pulls out all stops to prove Lacey’s innocence, while also confronting her own battles with alcohol and work pressures.

As the case unfolds, Cate becomes consumed by the pursuit, neglecting arranged time with her daughter, yet she manages to win a dramatic victory when Lacey’s conviction is overturned, offering a glimmer of hope for both client and attorney.

But the drama deepens when Cate learns that Lacey may actually be guilty, a realization that coincides with a relapse into drinking and a widening rift with her family. The mounting pressure tests Cate’s judgment and blur the line between dedication and obsession.

Back in the courtroom, Cate returns to a prestigious firm and, in a troubling turn, starts to undermine the case for her own client. She commits fraud, conspiracy, blackmail, and other misconduct in a bid to push for Lacey’s re-imprisonment, crossing ethical boundaries that put her career at risk.

The web tightens as Cate supplies crucial evidence to the prosecutor who could convict Lacey, and then quietly colludes with that prosecutor to keep their arrangement secret, a move aimed at preserving her own license.

Cate does not recuse herself from the trial—even as she works to influence the proceedings through blackmail, pressuring the original judge to recuse himself after previously ruling in Lacey’s favor. The prosecutor, meanwhile, maintains prosecutorial misconduct without stepping aside, tightening the ethical quagmire surrounding the case.

In the end, the scheme yields a re-conviction for Lacey, and Cate is rewarded with shared custody of her daughter, a conclusion that honors her ambiguous, morally complex journey through ambition, addiction, and loyalty.