Law & Order Season 18 quotes

Is it customary to shoot your partner, or does that fall under "going the extra mile"?

McCoy

I called Cassidy's boss. Every response from him consisted of a verb, a subject and 9/11.

[after being accused of sabotaging the case for political reasons] So there it is. Some of us were wondering how long it'd take the real Jack McCoy to rear his shaggy, hippie liberal head. You know, when Arthur left, the Attorney General told me he wanted me sitting in that chair.

McCoy

And the mayor wanted somebody else. But I was the guy next in line for the job. This way, everybody's hands are clean and I don't have to grind anybody's axe.

Except your own.

McCoy

Josh, I think you've said enough.

It's too much power for you, Jack. You can't be trusted.

McCoy

If you really believe that you shouldn't be working for me. You can resign or I can fire you. Either way, clean out your desk tonight. You're done here.

McCoy

What an idiot! Where did I get the idea I could do this job without the politics and stay above the fray? Now I know why Adam Schiff was so grumpy.

McCoy

If there's a law, I will enforce it. If there's a crime, I will prosecute it. And if there is a victim, I will speak for that victim.

Cutter

Now that we can establish Yost's motive, the defense is likely to do something unconventional.

McCoy

Such as?

Cutter

Putting lethal injection on trial. An appeal to the jury's political beliefs.

McCoy

It shouldn't be a problem.

Cutter

[sarcastically] Because Lord knows something like that never works!

Cutter

I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Yost. I can't imagine what you've been through. But it doesn't justify what you did. [facing the jury] The defendant coolly and deliberately tracked Dr. Garrison down, filled with a rage he knew might easily spark to violence. This wasn't post-traumatic stress. This was a thirst for revenge, the revenge he couldn't have against Lionel Hartigan. Now, we all saw what's left of Mr. Hartigan in this courtroom. Wasn't that enough retribution? Did killing an innocent man bring back the defendant's family? Or is it just another wasted life? Mr. Yost knows better than anyone in this courtroom the person responsible for the pain and the sadness inflicted on Dr. Burns' family should pay. And pay dearly.

Connie

Timmy came off as an opportunistic, criminal piece of crap.

Cutter

He is an opportunistic, criminal piece of crap.

McCoy

Jurors are people. Lawyers are people. They have reactions. We could put you in a burqa.

Connie

Jack...

McCoy

Or have robots try cases. Until then, we use what we have.

You learn that in law school?

Cutter

Right out of law school. Nothing but drug cases for five years. Would you feel better if I offered her a lollipop?

I'd feel better if you hadn't roughed her up.

Cutter

How do you think her mother got her to lie? I'm playing to win, detective, and winning means Katherine Waxman in jail.

Is this some kind of sport to you?

Cutter

[pause] Stick with your law books, detective. On the page, the law is a much purer thing.

Connie

[about Waxman representing herself] She's emotional and erratic, with no background in the law. By all rights, it's a slam dunk.

Cutter

People v. Fisher. Mr. Fisher crushed his fiancé's head with a hammer. Five people saw him do it, he was covered in blood and brain matter... he was acquitted. It wasn't my first case, or my tenth. It happened four years ago. No such thing as a slam dunk.

McCoy

[to Dr. Olivet] You understand that you're working for the other side now. That means the gloves will have to come off.

That hurt, Jack.

McCoy

I warned you.

You betrayed a confidence.

McCoy

You went to bat for a woman who shot her husband in cold blood, and who would have killed anybody else she found in his office. If I had to betray a confidence to ensure that she goes to jail, so be it. These are the rules we live by.

This isn't your finest hour, Jack.

McCoy

Nor yours.

I am a rock in a sea of chaos. I will not be bullied or broken. I'm a rock in a sea of chaos.

Connie

Would you sleep with a suspect to get a conviction?

Cutter

[smiles] I might go on a date.