Law & Order: Special Victims Unit quotes

Benson

Martha, I am not a fan of yours and I think that your views on sexual assault are reprehensible, but you are a survivor and I really want to help you get justice.

Always effective. The inspirational mission statement.

Benson

[sighs] If you're pulling your punches for ideological reasons because you don't have the integrity to be honest...

Do not question my integrity.

Benson

Then how about you drop the armor? How about you start talking to me like a human being, not a media personality? Can we do that? Can we... can we just talk? Please?

In my younger and more vulnerable years, when I was knee-deep in my very first trial, opposing counsel unwittingly sabotaged his own case by including an inculpatory document in with his discovery request. I didn't know what to do. So I did what any young ADA did when he was utterly lost. I went to Mr. Stone's cubicle, where he was writing a closing. Ben listened patiently. "I can either ignore the document," I said, "or..." And he cut me off before I could finish the sentence. "A man shouldn't do what he can," he said. "He should do what he must, without regard for consequence or repercussion. That's what makes us moral," Ben added. "And God help us if we lose that." So, like that, the world is a sadder place. The noblest of hearts has cracked. Goodbye, Ben Stone. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

Benson

Nobody's forcing you to prosecute.

If I don't, I'm telling the world that baby Drew has no rights.

What about his right to die?

Sonny

Unfortunately, that's not in the Constitution.

Okay, let's find out if daddy's little excursion yesterday caused the baby any harm.

Benson

So you can let Aaron go with a clear conscience?

So I can prosecute and maybe get some sleep in the next decade or so.

It must have been tough growing up with "Saint Ben".

A great man is not necessarily a good one.

Did you know he had everyone over to his house the first time you pitched? I thought his heart stopped when that bastard ruined your no-hitter. I think he secretly became a Cubs fan.

[chuckles] That's treason.

That's what I told him.

You know, when we first started working together, what was it, five years ago?

Benson

Six.

The world was an old movie. It was all black and white. And it was high noon. I was Gary Cooper. I was absolutely sure, absolutely, who were the good guys, who were the bad guys. And then you, you started to weasel your way into my world, and the black and white became different shades of gray. Don't. Don't say it. Before I knew it, there were blues and greens and yellows and reds. I'm you now, Liv. You opened my heart. And I thank you for it.

Benson

And?

I've got to move on.

When you went to arrest my client, did he have a swollen face and a black eye?

Cassidy

He resisted.

So you smashed his face into a desk and you called him a monkey?

Cassidy

That's a lie!

But you do admit you violently subdued him?

Cassidy

Yeah. He was trying to get away!

Because you are a loose cannon that cannot control his animal instincts.

Cassidy

Actually, the only animal in this courtroom, Counselor, is your client, Dr. West.

So all black men are animals to you?

Cassidy

Oh, c'mon! This is such garbage!

So you felt justified to take out your rage on him.

Cassidy

[screaming] So what if I did?!

Detective, that's enough...

Cassidy

After what he did to that boy, and all the other ones?

Detective, sit down!

Cassidy

He's lucky I didn't put him in a goddamn body bag!

Weren't you wearing that suit yesterday?

Sonny

My, uh, dry cleaner broke down.

That's too bad. I thought you might be getting laid.

Sonny

Don't think too much, Rollins.

Sonny

Detective Carisi. This is Detective Rollins...

I know who you are.

Then you know West was our case.

Yeah. It's all over the news how that racist in the D.A. squad self-destructed in court.

I know Cassidy. He's no racist.

He just gets off on roughing up black suspects?

Pedophiles. They tend to bring out the worst in people.

Sonny

Alright, let's concentrate on this murder. We investigated West for the past two years, so if we combine our resources...

Oh, I got it from here, and I'd appreciate it if you'd get out of my crime scene before you people screw that up, too. [leaves]

Sonny

[calling after her] It's a little early in the morning for stick up your ass.

Sonny

So is this where you tell me I'm off the case?

Benson

Officially, yes. And unofficially, don't screw it up.

Look, what you do working full-time as a lieutenant and being a single mother that must take more energy than I can imagine. And you... what I mean is, you make it look effortless.

Benson

Okay, you don't have to flatter me.

I'm just telling you how I see it.

Benson

Okay. Carisi's niece is telling the truth. Uh, she may have been unclear the first time, but the second time, I believe her.

I do too, but she's still an imperfect witness.

Benson

Welcome to Sex Crimes. Look, Stone, there are no perfect witnesses. They leave out part of the story. They can't remember. They feel guilty, change their minds. They blame themselves. They think it's their fault, but that's why we're here. To fight for them. And the less perfect they are, the harder we fight. Look, nobody asks a robbery or a homicide victim if she wanted it. Nobody says, Hey, why was she walking down the dark alley? Why was she wearing the dark skirt? Nobody implies that the crime was somehow her fault.

I'm just used to having more evidence before I go to trial.

Benson

You have the victim's word. We go to trial so the victim, the survivor can look her rapist in the eye and tell the world, her truth. We go to trial so she can be heard. The truth, that's what heals. If you're going to trial because because you want to win, you're in the wrong place.

Am I a bad person?

Sonny

No. No, of course not. Hey. The first time I met you, you were three months old, and, uh you wouldn't smile for me, no no matter what I did. You just stared at me. You're very serious, but you were so cute that I started smiling. And then all of a sudden, like like somebody flipped a light switch. Your face lit up and and you smiled at me. That was all you needed. You just wanted me to be happy. You've always been like that, Mia, and I promise you, I'm not gonna let anything bad happen.

We've all got family secrets, Detective. The important thing is, you spoke up when it counted.

Sonny

You know, you're not such a bad guy for a lawyer.

I do my best.

Sonny

Hey, Rollins, when you were a kid, what was the dumbest thing you ever did?

Me and Stevie Harris used to steal our dads' .22s and go shoot cans off a stump, and one day, I dared him to go down to the stump and just hold the can an arm's length out. Dead-eye Amanda shoots a bullet hole right through the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

Sonny

You know what, remind me never to go to the practice range with you.

Remind me never to let Jesse leave the house.

These are medical consent forms, all of them forged by Dr. Franchella. There's 31 of them.

She's done this before?

Yes, and we're considering filing forgery charges against her on behalf of the other families.

What's there to consider? She ripped open my daughter's chest and ripped out her still-beating heart.

She never even gave us a choice.

And she clearly violated the law. But there's an ethical question as whether her actions may have saved other children.

Don't! You think this is ethical? She stole my child's body parts! What gives her the right? A medical degree?

She had no right to do that to us!

You bring your kid to the hospital, and you expect them to take care of her. You trust them with your precious baby, and they give her to a vulture.

When I first came to New York, I spent all my time at the hospital with my father. And every afternoon, I'd go down to the cafeteria, grab a cup of coffee. My father died while I was asking one of the servers down there for some half-and-half.

Benson

That must've been hard.

It would've been a lot harder if the doctor had harvested his organs before I got back to his room.

Benson

You should've seen the look in the parents' eyes when I told them.

You did the right thing, Olivia.

Benson

And if that little boy in Buffalo dies because I did the right thing?

Things are never easy when they're not black and white.