In representing criminal defendants - especially guilty ones - it is often necessary to take the offensive against the government: to put the government on trial for its misconduct. In law, as in sports, the best defense is often a… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
Imagine a legal system in which lawyers were equated with the clients they defended and were condemned for representing controversial or despised clients. — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. But there is perfect injustice, and we know it when we… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
A criminal trial is never about seeking justice for the victim. If it were, there could be only one verdict: guilty. — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
If torture is going to be administered as a last resort in the ticking-bomb case, to save enormous numbers of lives, it ought to… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
Our First Amendment expresses a far different calculus for regulating speech than for regulating nonexpressive conduct and that is as it should be. The… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
I think that lawyers are terrible at admitting that they're wrong. And not just admitting it; also realizing it. Most lawyers are very successful,… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
Asymmetrical warfare is a euphemism for terrorism, just like collateral damage is a euphemism for killing innocent civilians. — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
I never had an existential moment when I asked myself what I was going to do. I always wanted to be a lawyer, and… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
It's a new phenomenon in America that states can now sue the national government and become a kind of check and balance on the… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
When it comes to partisan politics, everyone is a hypocrite. And all they care about is whether it hurts or helps them ... Is… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
Everybody says they're opposed to torture. But everyone would do it personally if they knew it could save the life of a kidnapped child… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
I think mistakes are the essence of science and law. It's impossible to conceive of either scientific progress or legal progress without understanding the… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
I never place limits on the potential success of my students. If they're going into acting, they're going to win the Oscar... If they're… — Alan Dershowitz Copy Share Image
