Jack McCoy quotes from Law & Order

McCoy

Juries aren't stupid.

Really. We must be working different courtrooms.

You know, my firm has been talking about expanding. Have you ever considered going into private practice?

McCoy

Considered it and rejected it. A long time ago, I learned to accept my place in the world.

I suppose that's a virtue. Though personally, I can't see it.

He tormented his family, he battered his girlfriend. Danny Ashburn wasn't a victim, he was an argument for birth control.

McCoy

He's not the one on trial here.

You oughtta put his pregnant girlfriend on the stand. The jury will admire the mother for not killing him sooner.

Andrew Keener's attorney has been trying to reach you all day.

McCoy

I got his messages.

He wants to avoid the humiliation of a trial.

McCoy

What's he offering, a seat on his board?

He says he wants to spare his granddaughter from having to testify.

McCoy

I hope you told him what to do with that.

I did.

McCoy

Good. No more deals.

Let's not forget that we have a Constitution. Call me a stickler, but I think we should at least pretend to follow it.

McCoy

And I think that the Constitution should be used less as a shield for the guilty, and more as a sword for their innocent victims.

How many people have you watched wither away and die, Mr. McCoy?

McCoy

You didn't want to suffer her fate, so you pushed her treatment until it was lethal. Isn't that true, doctor?

How many nights have you sat by a dying child's bedside, praying that a treatment might work?

McCoy

But for the child, doctor? Or for yourself?

I did what I thought was right to save a young girl from a wasting hell. Did I hope it might help my chances? Yes, I did. For Emily, for me, for thousands of others. Yes, Mr. McCoy, I admit that.

McCoy

They wouldn't convict a dying man.

Maybe they figured if Emily had survived, Dr. Copelan would have won a Nobel Prize. Maybe they're right.

McCoy

Maybe they figured a vaccine that could save their own lives was more important than the life of a kid who was dying anyway.

Just who the hell do you think you are, McCoy? Who do you think you're dealing with?

McCoy

Someone who sends other people to do his dirty work for him.

Listen to yourself. Your whole plan is fueled by outrage.

McCoy

Outrage is all we have right now.

McCoy

[about Goodwyn] That's why I'll never get married again.

Connie

Whoa, she was your...

McCoy

Second wife's attorney.

Which am I first, an American or a Muslim?

McCoy

You need to decide if there's a contradiction.

McCoy

What did Faoud say to you in the courtroom?

"Burn."

McCoy

What did you say back?

"God bless the United States of America."

McCoy

Murder-2 on all 8 charges.

Go to Hell, McCoy. Murder-1, 2, 3. What's the hell's that even mean? I want somethin' real. TV time. Conjugal visits.

McCoy

We're not here to offer perks, Mr. Vorgitch.

I want one of them flatscreens. That's my price. Take it or leave it.

McCoy

We'll leave it.

Fine, but every day I get on that bus and go to court is another day I don't have to spend in here. Another chance to escape.

I did exactly what you were trying to do. Everyone agreed he should die.

McCoy

I was seeking to have Vorgitch legally executed.

And I executed him. How can you come after me for that?

McCoy

Because New York doesn't have a do-it-yourself death penalty, Mr. Purcell.

I don't care what the law says.

Connie

That's hardly a defense.

You think I am guilty because I am a woman with power.

McCoy

No, I think you are guilty for the same reason you bugged your corporate headquarters. You're a person with power who couldn't bear to lose it.