Rafferty's Rules

Michael Aloysius Rafferty starts his new job as Stipendiary Magistrate of Manly Local Court.

Rafferty's estranged wife Joanne arrives in Sydney to discuss a few things and he is anxious. Meanwhile, Paulyne has a crisis of conscience when she has to act for a man in an assault case.

Rafferty deals with a young prostitute and U.S. government officials apply to extradite one of their citizens.

Rafferty is angry when a drugs case he was listed to deal with is suddenly moved to another court and confronts the Chief Magistrate about the matter.

Rafferty is forced to examine his attitude towards women.

Rafferty feels alone with his recent move to the city.

Work pressures get to much for Paulyne and a love affair seems the answer.

Flicker's replacement finds he has to play it by Rafferty's rules.

Double standards are apparent in a case that comes before Rafferty.

Rafferty confronts painful parallels at home when his kids arrive out of the blue.

There is an uneasy atmosphere around Rafferty's court when Flicker returns.

Rafferty's court is thrown into turmoil by a mysterious thief in Rafferty's office.

Michael wrestles with the concept of possession after the discovery of Aboriginal remains creates a conflict of ownership between the state and the Indigenous community.

Michael is caught between a rock and a hard place when he is forced to decide the fate of a young boy whose doctors believe is sick, but whose parents are refusing further tests on religious grounds.

Fulvio learns that his teacher and idol isn't quite the perfect magistrate that he thought after he takes over when Michael falls ill.

The courthouse becomes the centre of the fallout from a Secret Intelligence Agency training exercise.

Gibson faces his past after a series of alcohol-related prosecutions force him to confront the reasons he gave up drinking.

A series of sexual assaults has consequences for the courthouse when the police fit up suspects and Paulyne is attacked in her own home.

Michael sees the law from another perspective after he becomes the key witness in Flicker's prosecution against an arsonist.

Michael begins to wonder if someone is trying to put a spell on him after a number of suspicious run-ins with a member of a religious commune.

Lisa confronts the prejudices of society when she defends a man with AIDS who has committed an armed robbery in order to ensure his wife's future following his death.

Michael is drawn into the world of a struggling young family after he witnesses a woman being hit by a car.

Lisa finds herself at odds with her colleagues when she defends an anti-nuclear activist whose family and the police are determined to have detained for his own safety.

Rafferty decides to expose a Chilean military attaché following charges for torturing political dissidents in Chile.