Thursday, October 3, 1963: Perry Mason loses a case

Dist. Atty. Hamilton Burger defeats Mason in "The Case of the Deadly Verdict." Girl is on trial for the murder of her aunt.
     -- Television listings, Milwaukee Journal, October 3

     There will be a big change in the television season that is about to begin. A Perry Mason client will be found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to death. It will be Perry's first unfavorable verdict since he start practicing law over the Columbia Broadcasting System television network on the night of Saturday, Sept. 21, 1957, at 7:30 o'clock (Eastern daylight time).
     ... Viewers tuned to "Perry Mason" will observe a well-nigh peerless Perry facing his darkest hour. ... Although "Perry Mason" episodes usually begin with the early stages of a court case or trial, this one opens with a court verdict. The defendant ... is found guilty of murdering her aunt for money. Presumably this is the first time in six years that Mason, played by Raymond Burr, has been called upon to register surprise.
     The big question is what Perry and his client can do to reverse the circumstance just before the final commercial.
     -- New York Times, September 8

* Summary (from allmovie.com): @ 

* Summary of this and Mason's two other setbacks (from The Perry Mason TV Show Book): @ 

---