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Debuting the same week as two other basic-network "reality" programs (Crime & Punishment and Houston Medical), State V. was a five-part series focusing on the American criminal justice system. For 18 months, the series' crew was given permission to film a variety of investigations (mostly homicide) occurring within the walls of the Superior Court of Maricopa County, AZ (which included the city of Phoenix). In a rare example of "up close and personal," the series even spent time in jury rooms, recording the manner in which 12 "good persons and true" held the lives of others in the balance. Hosted by the ABC network's senior legal correspondent, Cynthia McFadden, State V. first aired on June 19, 2002.