十三岁的皇家海军学院学生Ronnie Winslow （Guy Edwards 扮演） 被告偷了五先令的汇票。在没有内部的询问调查，没有联系和通知他的家庭，并且也没有给予代言人的权利，就控告当时只有十三岁的Ronnie有罪。学院要求他的父亲 Arthur Winslow （Nigel Hawthorne 扮演）为Ronnie办理退学手续，这在当时是对开除学籍的委婉说法。在女儿Catherine（Rebecca Pidgeon扮演）和他的朋友兼家庭律师Desmond Curry （Colin Stinton扮演） 的帮助下， Arthur Winslow 决定为了Ronnie的名誉而战。他们提出了标题为“Let right be done”的权利请愿书（Petition of right）。然而，这并非小事。根据不列颠法律，海军部的决定即是政府的官方正式决定。若没有首席检察官（Attorney General)的同意，是不可以向政府的决定提出控告, 即 One cannot sue the Crown。
Winslow 一家成功地找到当时在英国有资格出席高等法庭并辩护的律师（Barrister) Robert Morton 爵士（Jeremy Northam扮演）。Sir Robert Morton同时也是反对党的英下议院议员。出乎Catherine的意外，Sir Robert不但没有拒绝这个案子或当它是个政治游戏，事实上他是非常慎重地接过案子的委托。经过一连串扣人心弦的询问（cross-examination），他相信Ronnie是无辜的。
起初，政府是坚决地不让法庭受理这个案子。在Winslow一家和Sir Robert的努力下， 以及公众充满了对Winslow一家的同情，在此种情况下，政府让步了，允许这个案子进入法庭审理。在法庭上，那些所谓的证据禁不起询问，海军部撤回起诉，Ronnie被宣判无罪，他是无辜的。
虽然在法律上Winslow一家赢了，可是所付的代价相当大。由于过度的疲劳，使父亲Arthur的身体状况恶化。因为经济原因，哥哥Dickie 不得不中断了在牛津大学的学业，早早进入社会工作。姐姐Catherine的婚事也因为这个案子告吹。Winslow一家原本快乐幸福也不同程度地受到影响。
Sir Robert 因为不愿放弃这个案子而拒绝了对他Lord Chief Justice的任命。
影片中有些非常精彩的片段。
当Arthur看了学校给他的信并知道儿子Ronnie的事后， 在书房中二人的对话,充满了父与子信任与坦陈的感情。
Arthur: Come over here. Why aren’t you in uniform?
Ronnie: It’s got wet.
Arthur: How did it get wet?
Ronnie: I was out in the garden in the rain.
Arthur: Why?
Ronnie: I was hiding.
Arthur: From me? Do you remember once you promised me if you got into trouble of any sort…you’d come to me first?
Ronnie: Yes, Father.
Arthur: Why didn’t you now? Why did you hide in the garden?
Ronnie: I don’t know.
Arthur: Are you so frightened of me?
Ronnie: …
Arthur: It says in this letter that you stole a postal order.
Ronnie: But I…
Arthur: No. I don’t want you to say a word until you’ve heard what I have to say first. If you did it, you must tell me. I shan’t be angry with you provided you tell me the truth. But if you tell me a lie, I shall know it…because a lie between you and me cannot be hidden. I shall know it. So remember that before you speak. Did you steal this postal order?
Ronnie: No, Father, I didn’t.
Arthur: Did you steal this postal order?
Ronnie: No, Father, I didn’t.
Arthur: Go on back to bed.
Sir Robert在英国国会下院的充满激情的演说， 期间他引用了圣经的话，最终使得Winslow 的案子能在法庭上公开审理。
反对派: ..laughable, pure histrionic hyperbole. Was the right honorable and learned gentleman opposite…to calumny the admiralty? For a child, gentlemen. For a child. A guilty child. Can we not, I do beseech you make an end? One cannot sue the Crown. Justice has been done to the tenth decimal point. And it is time to lay aside nursery gossip and to proceed with the business of government… And I believe I can state with certainty that the mood of this House is sure, correct and supportive of the admiralty on behalf of which and on behalf of those it is sworn to guard. I thank you for your patience. I thank you for your time.
…
Sir Robert: Point of order, Mr. Speaker. Point of order.
反对派: I am on my feet. Does this escape you?
Sir Robert: Point of order, I said.
反对派: I am on my feet.
法官: Gentlemen! There is a motion on the floor…
Sir Robert: Point of order, I must insist.
反对派: Upon what grounds?
Sir Robert: Sit down and I’ll tell you. Sit down!
反对派: Very well, make your old speech.
Sir Robert: Thank you. I have a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I should like to read into the record two items. First item, popular song of the day: “How Still We See Thee Lie” or “The Naughty Cadet.” “How dare you sully Nelson’s name who for this land did die. Oh, naughty cadet, for shame, for shame. How still we see thee lie.” They suggest…They suggest our concern for the boy might perhaps tarnish the reputation of Lord Nelson.
反对派: You said two items.
Sir Robert: The other one is this. The other one is this. It’s from a slightly older source. It is this: ”You shall not side with the great against the powerless.”
反对派: Mr. Speaker, point of order!
Sir Robert: I’m on my feet.
法官: Will you yield?
Sir Robert: I will not yield, Mr. Speaker! ”You shall not side with the great against the powerless.” Have you heard those words, gentlemen? Do you recognize their source? From that same source I add this injunction. It is this: “What you do to the least of them, you do to me.”
当整个社会对上帝都充满敬畏时，这样的句子”You shall not side with the great against the powerless.” 才会让不可诉讼的皇冠让步。真象Sir Robert所说的那样 “Easy to do justice, very hard to do right”.
“What you do to the least of them, you do to me.” 出自于《马太福音》25章35-40节。
Matthew 25:35-40
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
影片是根据一个真实的故事（George Archer-Shee事件）改编的，并且，这个案例开创了不列颠法律上的先例。
Petition of right （From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia）
In English law, a petition of right was a remedy available to subjects to recover property from the Crown.
Before the Crown Proceedings Act 1947, the British Crown could not be sued in contract. However, as it was seen to be desirable that Crown contractors could obtain redress, lest they be inhibited from taking on such work, the petition of right came to be used in such situations, especially after the Petitions of Right Act 1860 simplified the process. Before the petition could be heard by the courts, it had to be endorsed with the words fiat justitia on the advice of the Home Secretary and Attorney-General. This Latin phrase was normally translated as "Let right be done".
One of the most famous causes célèbres in English law, the Archer-Shee case, arose out of proceedings on a petition of right.Section 1 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 allows claims for which a petition would previously have been demanded to be brought in the courts directly as against any other defendant. However, a petition and fiat still appear to be necessary for personal claims against the monarch.
