This episode was the first of three to feature Georgette Sinclair. All three shows were filmed back-to-back-to-back as the last three productions of the 1971-72 season, but they were shown out of production order and an extra non-Georgette episode was tossed into the mix.
This was supposed to be Sally Field's return to the series as Clementine Hale, but Field wasn't available for the four weeks of filming and had to wait until the following season. The part was not rewritten in any way; the script typists simply changed her name.
The plot of this episode is almost identical to that of an episode of the Virginian called The Exiles, where the Virginian must travel to find the real killer of a man back in Medicine Bow in order to clear Judge Garth who stands accused of the crime.
Just as in this episode, a girl who has arrived in the same town to start singing in a saloon, is told by a deputy to leave town or else!
Both are written by Roy Huggins and he did often use screenplays from his previous shows in new shows if they needed a script urgently.