Tidal Wave
Maxine works more tirelessly than ever on the Pamela Taylor investigation as she assists an attorney in finding other abused teens who are willing to join in the Taylors' class action suit against Buckley Hills; when a social worker in a child abuse case appears in her courtroom with an attitude, and without any of the periodic reports she was ordered to file with the court, Amy cites her for contempt and has her arrested when she discovers that the social worker is unaware of the child's present whereabouts; later that evening at the dinner table, Maxine takes vociferous objection to Amy's ruling and accuses her of displacing her fears and frustration about Maxine's health onto a good social worker who is overworked and overwhelmed; realizing that her mother is right, Amy has the social worker released from jail; when Donna discovers how much Kyle regrets not completing his medical training, she prods him into resuming his studies; Amy presides at the sentencing hearing for two young
More from Season 3
Episode 1
The Last Word
After pleas from Maxine and Peter, Amy takes the first step in mending fences with Vincent; back in town with a new job working in the prosecutor's office, Stu Collins has a near-fatal heart attack after a verbal altercation with Amy, who is unable to contact any of his friends or family; Maxine tries to help a couple who cannot agree about giving up the special needs child they adopted, but is unable to avert the tragic outcome of their dilemma; the teenage son of a mobster appears in Amy's court for setting a fire which destroyed a store and maimed an employee after an argument with the store's owner; on the road to recovery, Stu confesses to Amy that he's had a crush on her for years; Amy and Bruce test the boundaries of their relationship.
Episode 2
Off the Grid
Vincent and Amy are frantic when Maxine disappears; Carole ignores a lump on her breast; Amy suspects a lawyer of exploiting starving children and also hears the case of two kids who attack a Live the Lord club and try to excuse it by saying that the club should not be meeting on school grounds.
Episode 3
Darkness For Light
Amy must decide the appropriate punishments for a high school gang leader who tortured an undercover police officer, and for a teenage girl who perpetrated day-trading fraud; Maxine helps an abused little girl at Sanctuary House locate her long-lost dog; Donna goes to annoying extremes to make Vincent's novel a success; Sean tries to get Maxine to spend more time at D.C.F. and less at Sanctuary House; before he sets off on a pilgrimage, Stuart does his best to seduce Amy.
Episode 4
The Right Thing To Do
Amy must rule on the fate of conjoined twins; Jared proposes to Maxine before taking a job in China; Carole tries to push Vincent away after she learns the lump on her breast is malignant.
Episode 5
Look Closer
Amy hears the case of two teenagers accused of causing the suicide of a classmate by deliberately posting lies about her sexual activity on their web site. The long arm of politics reaches out to Maxine and exacts a heavy penalty for her tirade against the lieutenant governor. Amy gives her support to Bruce's Gun 101 program. Vincent returns from his weekend trip and tells Donna that he and Carole flew to Las Vegas and eloped. Carole has already moved on to San Francisco, where Vincent will join her in a few days to be with her during her cancer surgery. Unaware that he hasn't mentioned any of this to his family, Donna lets the news slip to Amy. Amy tries, but fails, to reconcile with her brother. Maxine urges Vincent not to turn away from the love and support that his family is offering which will help him get through this crisis. She tells Amy and Vincent to knock it off and end whatever disagreement is causing them to be estranged from each other.
Episode 6
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Family
Amy must decide whether to modify a custody agreement and allow a woman to take her daughter to Paris for two years against the wishes of the girl's father; back to work at the DCF, Maxine takes on the case of ""Bubble Man"", a homeless man who is about to be arrested for blowing bubbles in the park without a permit, and shows Robert some tricks of the trade to save an abused boy; Bruce works with a mother who is about to lose custody of her son for not meeting the conditions of his probation because she is in denial about the emotional toll her son's disability has taken on her; Maxine brokers a peace settlement and gets Amy and Vincent speaking again by suggesting that Amy review Vincent's contract with the studio that has optioned his novel; Carole's condition worsens unexpectedly, and Vincent leaves hurriedly, amid many tears and in possession of the family's good luck totem, the ""surfing monkey"".
