Henry Fonda
— Clarence Earl Gideon
José Ferrer
— Abe Fortas
John Houseman
— Chief Justice / Offscreen Narrator
Fay Wray
— Edna Curtis
Dean Jagger
— 6th Supreme Court Justice
Sam Jaffe
— 1st Supreme Court Justice
Nicholas Pryor
— Jacob
William Prince
— 5th Supreme Court Justice
Lane Smith
— Fred Turner
Richard McKenzie
— Judge Robert McCrary
Dolph Sweet
— Charlie
Ford Rainey
— 2nd Supreme Court Justice
David Sheiner
— Abe Krash
J. Patrick McNamara
— Harris
Les Lannom
— Bobby Earle
Malcolm Groome
— John Ely
Allan Rich
— Tobias Simon
Richard Lineback
— Lester Wade
David Clennon
— James Fitzpatrick
Michael Cavanaugh
— Stocker
Paul Benjamin
— Artis
Clifford A. Pellow
— Justin Pike
Jerry Hardin
— Sheriff Mel Cobb
Fredric Cook
— Leo Stafford
Steven Peterman
— Arthur Vitale
James O'Connell
— Warden
Jon Locke
— Supervisor
Gary Grubbs
— Deputy Hamilton
Seamon Glass
— Prison Guard
Gwen Van Dam
— Mrs. Lawrence