Law & Order: Special Victims Unit quotes

[to Cragen] You worry about children, you worry about your staff; who worries about you?

Benson

Gia, George Zane is going to prison. He will never touch you again.

You can't promise me that. In the real world, he's sane and I'm not.

A guy like that... raping a girl in his own family, over and over... You think I wanted to talk to him? I wanted to tear his head off.

Benson

My old partner, he, uh... There were a few times he came pretty close.

How do you handle it?

Benson

You do everything you can to make sure he never sees the light of day again.

You want a deal? Your client tells us what we wanna know, and he does time.

And how much is up to you.

What? The Ledger would love nothing more than to have a test case involving First Amendment and NYPD. Please, go ahead. Try us.

You three are playing this while there's a missing kid out there?

Yeah, let's cut to the chase, Mr. Exley.

Okay. Griscomb gives you everything he has on the missing boy's phone records, he gets full immunity from prosecution.

No, this is how it works: Wiretapping is federal. It's out of our hands. He give us something we can use, we'll mis-D the felony eavesdropping. Take a minute to think about it. And by a minute, I mean 59 seconds.

How 'bout a heads up?

How 'bout you keep up?

I didn't know it was a ladies' room.

You were aware there was a woman in there.

Well yeah, but I wasn't paying any attention to that. It was so dark in there I could hardly see anything. I told you all that when you arrested me.

Me? You mean Detective Tutuola?

Yeah, all you guys look a lot alike.

Ellis

[about Stanton] I'd ask that he be released of his own recognizance, but I'm not sure he'd be able to find his way home.

Can I ask you something? How long have you been at SVU?

Benson

Don't ask.

I mean, how do you handle dating with the things you see day in and day out? How can you trust any man?

Benson

I trusted my partner.

Yeah, well...

Benson

I haven't given up. There are good guys still out there.

Do you know what I had to do to get that audition? Down on my knees with that pig, and Crane, and all those guys? I'm so tired of being the ugly duckling, and just once, I wanted you to know what it felt like to feel dirty, to want to give up!

I thought you were my friend! You had someone rape me!

It's about time something bad happened in your life, don't you think?

Just ask yourself something, counselor: Is this the battle you want? Because war is my business. And business is good.

Look, I have a daughter myself, Mr. O'Keefe. I understand how you feel.

Really. Does your daughter flinch when you try to hug her? Does your daughter wake up screaming in the night? Was your daughter raped so brutally that she'll never be able to have children?

We're gonna get these guys.

Prove it.

[finding a bottle of pills in Sandow's desk] Erection meds.

Munch

Maybe he needed help with his "artistic process".

Benson

Eddie, don't!

Why do you care?

Benson

Because I know what you're feeling.

No, you don't!

Benson

Yes, I do. My father did terrible things to women, to my own mother. You have a choice. I'm nothing like my father. You don't have to be like yours.

I've been exactly where you are, I know how this job can weigh on you.

What do you mean?

I used to drink. And I mean drink. Soon as I got off duty, I was at the bar pounding. And then I started having a few on the job. You know, just to get through. I thought nobody noticed. Now, my captain could've canned my ass. Should've. But he got me help instead.

Wow.

You're a good detective, Amanda. I don't want to end your career.

I don't want that, either.

So I'm gonna get you help. But you screw up again, you're gone.

What've you got?

It's the lab report on the tissue samples from Sidney Eckhouse's autopsy. Father and daughter tested positive for the same strain of herpes.

Every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.