“In court, the thing we punish is the criminal intention. -the mens rea, the guilty mind. There is an ancient rule: actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea - "the act does not create guilt unless the mind is… — William Landay Copy Share Image
“no one worth knowing can be quite known, no one worth possessing can be quite possessed—but” — William Landay Copy Share Image
“I do not believe in the court system, at least I do not think it is especially good at finding the truth. No lawyer… — William Landay Copy Share Image
An emotion is a thought, yes, an idea, but it is also a sensation, an ache in your body. Desire, love, hate, fear, repulsion… — William Landay Copy Share Image
“You can’t do it alone, that’s the thing. You have to remember there are other people out there who have gone through it, who… — William Landay Copy Share Image
“All they got locked up in this hole is my body. That's all they got, my body, not me. I'm everywhere, see? Everywhere you… — William Landay Copy Share Image
“I rather doubt he had the sense to see the truth: that there are wounds worse than fatal, which the law's little binary distinctions-guilty/innocent,… — William Landay Copy Share Image
“They were chosen for their perfect ignorance of these things. That is how the system works. In the end, the lawyers and judges happily… — William Landay Copy Share Image
Crime and legal stories, broadly speaking, are just where my interest happens to lie. — William Landay Copy Share Image
When I was 30 or so - by that time I had become an assistant D.A. - I decided I would try to write… — William Landay Copy Share Image
“It was a limitation of human consciousness: We live only in the future and past, we cannot perceive now. Now occupies no space, a… — William Landay Copy Share Image
“You're staring.' 'You're my wife. I'm allowed to stare.' 'Is that the rule?' 'Yes. Stare, leer, ogle, anything I want. Trust me. I'm a… — William Landay Copy Share Image
“It is a common architectural strategy to build courtrooms without windows, to enhance the effect of a chamber isolated from the everyday world, a… — William Landay Copy Share Image
“but good friendships require complementary personalities, not identical ones.” — William Landay Copy Share Image
“…I never expected to lose in court. In practice, I did lose, of course. Every lawyer loses, just as every baseball player makes an… — William Landay Copy Share Image
“Next to me was Jacob, this riddle Laurie and I had made. His size, his resemblance to me, the likelihood that he would fill… — William Landay Copy Share Image
