Law & Order: Special Victims Unit · Season 1
[Benson and Stabler are at a suspect's mother's home, trying to locate his current address, though they avoid telling her that her son's a suspect]
I don't like cryptic conversation. They require a prevaricating nature, which I do not possess. So either you tell me what this is all about...or you can locate Jason using whatever means you have at your disposal.
Do you know what obstruction is, ma'am? This is a murder investigation, and we need to speak with your son. Now.
[about Jason] He suffers from piquerism, counselor. The knife represents his penis. It is not disposable.
[during Jason's arraignment] How do you plead?
Not guilty, your honor.
Miss Cabot?
Remand, your honor.
The Mayberrys are an old, upstanding family in New Jersey. My client is not a flight risk. His mother, Grace Mayberry, will produce him for trial.
Because of his trust, as well as his mother's wealth, he has means and opportunity to flee. The defendant is charged with heinous crimes. The murder victim was 7 weeks pregnant.
Objection!
[pounds gavel] That was a nice try, counselor. Don't do it again.
My apologies.
Bail is set at 1,000,000. Post or enjoy my hospitality. [bangs gavel again]
[after killing his mother] I told her I'm not a little boy anymore.
[Benson and Stabler find Daniel Varney in Our Lady of Lords mopping the floors]
Daniel?
[stops mopping] Yes. I'm Daniel.
Hi. Can we talk to you a second?
Who are you?
We're the police.
[frightened] His avenging angels cometh. [drops his mop]
We just wanna ask you a question.
[murmurs incoherently] You cannot hide in the presence of the Lord. He sent you to judge me?
No, no. Not to judge you. To help you.
Why?! I served him. I was... I... They were unclean, and I cleansed them in their own blood. I saved a child, a lamb that was pure...
Daniel? Daniel, come with us. Come with us.
[pulls out his knife] Wasn't I good enough? Wasn't I good enough? Why do you send your angels for me? Why do you want to destroy me when I bring them your message? They were unclean. Why? Why do you send your angels for me? Why? Why do you want to destroy me when I bring them your message?
No. Not to destroy you. He wants to reward you.
HE WILL JUDGE ME! Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name thy kingdom come, thy will be done...
[in unison] ...on Earth as it is in Heaven give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses...
[Stabler knocks Daniel to the floor; Benson kicks the knife out of his hands]
Pray with me!
Get the arm.
[grabs Daniel's arm] Got it.
[slaps the cuffs on Daniel while he continues murmuring] Daniel Varney, you're under arrest for murder. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
[while in arraignment]
Mr. Newvine, how does your client plead?
Are you God?
Just an overworked judge, Mr. Varney. And I ask the questions. Not you. Guilty or not guilty?
How can you judge me if you're not God?
Mr. Newvine, control your client.
We plead not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, your honor. [to his client] Daniel, please!
Miss Cabot?
Remand, your honor. The defendant is clearly a dangerous...
NO!!! [he punches Newvine; the court officers restrain him] YOU CAN'T JUDGE ME! You don't sit in judgment of me! You don't sit in judgment of me! YOU DON'T SIT IN JUDGMENT OF ME! You can't judge me! You can't judge me!
I have to ask you something.
What?
Why didn't you shoot me?
Because I didn't want to hurt you.
But you must.
I must what, Daniel? I don't understand.
Kill me. Please. Please. I can't take any more pain.
On September 11th, 2001, New York City was ruthlessly and criminally attacked. While no tribute can heal the pain of that day, the producers of Law & Order dedicate this season to the victims and their families and to the firefighters and police officers who remind us everyday with their lives and courage what it truly means to be an American.
[after he is questioned about the murder of his son-in-law] If you're asking me if I'm glad he's dead, the answer is yes. If you're asking me if I killed him, the answer is no, although I would like to buy the fellow who did it a drink.
[about the use of sodium amytal] It's called False Memory Syndrome. I think of it as the power of suggestion run amok.
We've gotten warrants based on less, why are you stonewalling?
This is different and you know it. Once a judge hears the suspect's history, he's gonna bend over backwards for the guy.
I saw him, Alex. Plummer is stalking me.
How did he know where you were when he was in the interview room being questioned?
He must've overheard.
Okay, how many businesses are in the area near Chauncey's?
I don't know, several. Why? Where are you going with this?
Any decent defense attorney is going to say that Mr. Plummer was in the area running errands, that it was just a coincidence.
He has killed 4 people and we're doing nothing.
How many drinks did you have? Olivia, the system made a mistake before, now everything we do is under a microscope.
[pause] I wasn't drunk.
We blame all kinds of people for creating monsters. Why not ourselves?
3 marriages, no children. You ever consider adopting?
The kindest thing I could ever do for a kid is not adopt.
[after the captain blows up at a suspect] You lost your cool. You are too emotionally-invested in this case!
Damn right.
You happy now?
Mrs. Tate, I'm sorry about Leon.
Don't you dare say you're sorry. You're glad he's dead. He didn't kill those girls, but you killed him anyway. You murdered him.
Mrs. Tate, Detective Stabler was doing his job.
My son was innocent.
Your son was gonna kill somebody with his HIV. We had to stop him. We didn't put the needle in his arm.
You didn't. But you all stick together, don't you? (storms off)
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
