Elliot Stabler quotes from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Stabler

[about Hawkins' style] I just don't like grand-standers.

Hawk

I thought you were going to say grandfathers. That was a tough one to lose.

Stabler

[angrily] That jury sent him home to rape that kid all over again.

Hawk

Did you make your case?

Stabler

I had him nailed.

Hawk

Then you did your job.

Stabler

[snorts] That's not good enough anymore.

Hawk

Well it has to be, 'cause that's all there is.

Stabler

I told that little girl that everything was going to be okay.

Hawk

And I told the parents of Roger's victims that he'd rot in prison.

Stabler

Well at least you put him away for 18.

Hawk

Yeah, well, at least you gave that little girl a few days' peace. We never win this war, Elliot.

Hawk

[reviews old files after he has been drinking] I took 18 years from an innocent man. There's no way I can make that right.

Stabler

So what're you going to do, quit? What are you going to tell the parents of those girls? You made them a promise, and if you're the man I think you are, you'll keep it.

Stabler

Hawk? Hawk, don't do this.

Hawk

Don't do what, partner?

Stabler

We both know this isn't right.

Hawk

We both know the system sucks. This way it's just natural selection. [steps on the suspect's hand]

Stabler

Hawk, you do this, you're no better than he is.

Hawk

He sure as hell won't kill anybody else.

Stabler

This is no way to end it. Come on.

Hawk

He's an evil man, Elliot.

Stabler

And all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

Hawk

You gonna let an old drunk do all the work? Gimme a hand.

Benson

Entry wound from the back. He was running away.

Stabler

That tends to happen when you're looking in the barrel of a gun.

Benson

What exactly is a gorgon?

Dr. Huang

Are you familiar with Medusa?

Stabler

Glenn's abuser is a woman.

Who died?

Stabler

Dorothy Rudd.

Please tell me you're kidding.

Munch

Just got a call from Rikers. Massive heart attack.

Fin

Bitch didn't even suffer.

Anybody else feel cheated?

Benson

Prosecution abated by death. Sucks.

Stabler

That's it. No vindication, nobody pays.

Any alarm bells going off on the husband?

Stabler

Several. He's hiding something.

Benson

Getting off while choking isn't something you share with friends and family. People are always shocked when they get that kind of news.

Stabler

[about his marital troubles] It never goes away, y'know? Each case a little more horrific than the last. I go home, what am I supposed to do, talk about my day at work? "Honey, today a guy cut a baby out of his wife's stomach. Pass the gravy, please."

Benson

So you just don't talk at all? That's no solution, Elliot.

Stabler

One of us has to be able to sleep at night. She thinks I'm shutting her out.

Benson

You are. That's exactly what you do. You keep this up, you're gonna ruin the best thing you've ever had.

Benson

[about the dead bodies in the park] He's got a wedding ring. Is this a married couple?

Stabler

Trust me, married couples don't have sex in parks.

Criminology 101, detective. If you're gonna break the law, you don't want witnesses around.

Stabler

You think you're real cute, don'tcha?

23 cheerleaders can't be wrong.

Stabler

I know where you live, I know where you learn and I know where you bury your kill. You get used to my face 'cause you're gonna be seeing it every time you turn around.

Don't lose your head, Detective. You're having enough trouble finding one.

Fin

I can't wait to hear this.

Munch

Your sympathy is overwhelming.

Benson

What happened to you?

Munch

Skydiving, hard landing.

Stabler

He wiped out riding his friend's Harley.

Now the only thing he'll be riding is a desk.

Stabler

Alex, how many phone calls from victims have you gotten asking why you lost a case and what you're gonna do about it?

I've had my share.

Stabler

And how many times do you actually get a second chance?

Kids tend to lie when their backs are against the wall.

Stabler

Adults too.

Kathy

You played me, Elliot. You carried on that conversation, drawing information out of me like I was your witness.

Stabler

You know what happens to rape victims when they don't deal with the trauma. This girl's got drug and alcohol abuse in her future just to dull the pain. And then comes the inability to connect, the promiscuity because she thinks she had it coming to her. Either way, she's screwed until she gets help. A teacher is responsible and you know I just can't let this slide.

Kathy

I know you too well for that, but everything has a price and I just hope that you can pay it.

Benson

He, uh, really seems to favor that one position.

Stabler

Least he's consistent.

Benson

Boring, I think, is the word you're looking for.