Over the past two weeks, I put on a near-perfect case. I proved the defendant had access to the materials used to make the bomb. I proved he was on the subway the day the bomb exploded. You heard testimony that someone fitting his description committed a similar crime using the identical toxic gas five years ago in Baltimore, which just happens to be his hometown. A near-perfect case. And still, there's a chance I could lose; that's why I tossed those law books. And that's why Mr. Le Clair is absolutely right when he says black fingers are pointing at us. Where else are they going to point? No, none of us ever dragged anyone here in chains. We never hanged anybody's grandfather from a tree for looking too long at the master's daughter. We're a lot smarter than that and subtler. Instead of chains, we use reasonable doubt; instead of restricted bathrooms, we use unanimous verdicts. Yes, we can send a message. We can say, The racial divide in this country has grown, and is growing, and here's another example of just how unfair it gets. Or we can say, Enough. Equal protection under the law means exactly what it says.
S6 E13Charm City
S6 E14Custody
So because of the bigots, any Black criminal has a ready-made excuse?
Not an excuse. A mitigating factor.
You're a long way from the district attorney's office.
Ben Stone once said I'd have to decide if I was a lawyer who is black or a black man who is a lawyer. All those years, I thought I was the former. All those years, I was wrong.
S6 E15Encore
I didn't see nothing, I don't know nothing, and I don't want to know nothing.
Sort of a Zen thing, huh Frances? Keep your life clean and simple?
I don't know.
Did he say he was going to marry you? [places 2 morgue shots of Michael's previous wives in front of the witness] This is what happened to the first Mrs. Dobson, and this is what happened to the second Mrs. Dobson. Do you really want to be Mrs. Dobson #3?
S6 E16Savior
[about Weber] If he loved his kids that much, he'd have been home to tuck them in.
You tell me you never drank too much and blacked out.
Hey, I missed the entire Carter Administration, but I was always home for breakfast.
What do a sperm cell and a lawyer have in common?
They both have a one in a million chance of becoming a human being. There's a law: You pass the bar, you have to stop telling lawyer jokes.
S6 E17Deceit
What's your relationship with Liza?
I'm Liza. As in Minelli. See the resemblance?
You're a drag queen.
A female impersonator. I dress up for work the same as you do, detective.
Yeah, only I don't have to tuck in so much.
You had a beef with your boss?
His lady boss.
She was coming on to me.
What?
That's why I transferred here.
So can I transfer there?
S6 E18Atonement
Isn't your theory getting to be like theirs? They say he's an outraged boyfriend, you say he's an outraged would-be boyfriend.
There's a world of difference between a jealous lover and some horny bastard who's mad he can't get to first base.
Eloquent. Can't wait for your closing argument.
This kid falls in love with a girl he has no chance in the world to get.
And in a stupid, hopeless attempt to impress her, he shows her a million dollars worth of cocaine.
Yeah, I guess etchings don't work anymore.
And as a result he ends up having to kill her.
A story for Sophocles.
Or Larry, Moe and Curley.
Yeah. I always loved those guys.
S6 E19Slave
[An alcoholic murder suspect's daughter is covering for him]
Daddy's little helper.
Yeah, I used to have one of those.
Your conduct was unacceptable.
Why? Cause I let a father discipline his kid?
No one lays a hand on a suspect in my interrogation room. Now that man was out of control and it was up to you to manage it.
Well, that kid was out of control, and you know what scares me? That somebody like that can go to school with my daughter.
You think you're the only one who loses sleep? Look, if you don't like the way this place is run, transfer.
S6 E20Girlfriends
Crack open the piggy bank; see what falls out.
[Taggart's assets have been frozen]
How am I supposed to stay in business?
You know what? I don't think you're supposed to.
These quotes come from Wikiquote's Law & Order pages and are available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.