The summer of the never-ending documentary continues. Cynthia McFadden narrates ABC’s newest real-life drama, “State v.,” (9 p.m.), a five-part look at the criminal-justice system. Each installment examines a different case, from pre-trial hearings to the jury’s verdict.

The series does a good job of familiarizing viewers with the facts of the case, as presented by both prosecutors and defense teams. It also involves us in the dysfunctional family life of the accused and the professional hassles of both legal teams. There’s a lot to cover in a single hour.

Tonight’s cast, “State v. Santos” is a messy one. The prosecutors argue that 26-year-old Rudy Santos shot his friend in the head. They want to send him to jail for 22 years. Rudy argues that his friend was high on drugs and threatened him with a gun, so he acted in self-defense. The fact that both men were petty thieves who were caught stealing from their mutual employee muddies the waters. Neither shooter nor victim seems terribly sympathetic.

“State v.” takes the unprecedented step of allowing viewers to observe the jury’s deliberations. While these proceedings lack the snappy dialogue of “Twelve Angry Men,” it is fascinating to watch ordinary citizens consider the evidence and often come to completely opposite conclusions.

As documentaries go, “State v.” breaks no new ground. It lacks the dramatic pacing and three-camera visual dynamic of the more entertaining new NBC legal reality series, “Crime & Punishment.”

“State v.” continues next Wednesday with “State v. McNabb” an equally murky vehicular-manslaughter case. While ABC deserves some credit for depicting the gritty, and often ugly, reality of the characters caught up in the legal web, viewers will probably opt for the more satisfying artifice of “Law & Order.”

It takes a special kind of talent, or a shameless ego, to get your name above the title of your own television show. “Dominick Dunne’s Power, Privilege and Justice,” (9 p.m., Court TV) is a good example of the latter. “Power” lacks the tacky fun of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” but Dunne’s performance as narrator and guide to the pampered set owes a lot to Robin Leach’s breathless enthusiasm for “caviar dreams and champagne wishes.” Only here, the champagne might be spiked with arsenic.

Tonight’s “Power” concerns Jim Sullivan, a hard-driven Bostonian who murdered his wife (and possibly his uncle) to amass a small fortune and bamboozle his way into Palm Beach high society. If we learn anything from “Power” it’s that to the rich, there are far worse things than murder such as behaving like a nouveau-riche parvenu in Palm Beach. Dunne uses Sullivan’s grim tale of murder and conspiracy to introduce us to the Florida community’s exclusive private clubs and restaurants. We learn that the rich go out to eat on Thursdays, because that’s the servant’s night off. We also discover that money can’t buy brains. Sullivan gets tripped up by a web of lies, phone calls and a scheming second wife who blows his cover at their messy divorce proceedings.

Tonight’s other highlights

Scheduled on “60 Minutes II,” (7 p.m., CBS): eavesdropping on Osama bin Laden; a man who sings like a woman.

A woman (Gloria Reuben) uncovers the ugly truth of her birth when she searches for her biological mother in the 1999 drama “Deep in My Heart,” (8 p.m., CBS).

“In Search of Ancient Ireland,” (8 p.m., PBS, check local listings, part two of three) looks at Christianity’s arrival and examines the legends of St. Patrick and St. Briget.

A very bad woman (Susan Lucci) gets her lover to kill her husband in the 1998 TV thriller “Blood on Her Hands,” (8 p.m., Lifetime).

Auditions continue on “American Idol: The Search for a Superstar,” (8:30 p.m., Fox).