Rogue Lawyer Quotes

“Like so many, this trial is not about the truth; it’s about winning.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“As a society, we adhere to the belief in a fair trial for a person accused of a serious crime, but some of us struggle when it comes to the business of providing a competent lawyer to guarantee said fair trial. Lawyers like me live with the question “But how do you represent such scum?”

I offer a quick “Someone has to” as I walk away.

Do we really want fair trials? No, we do not. We want justice, and quickly. And justice is whatever we deem it to be on a case-by-case basis.

It’s just as well that we don’t believe in fair trials because we damned sure don’t have them. The presumption of innocence is now the presumption of guilt. The burden of proof is a travesty because the proof is often lies. Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt means if he probably did it, then let’s get him off the streets.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“If the cops can’t convict with evidence, they use the media to convict with suspicion.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“if a defense lawyer is caught cheating, he or she gets nailed with sanctions by the court, reprimanded by the state bar association, maybe even indicted. If a prosecutor gets caught cheating, he either gets reelected or elevated to the bench.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Do we really want fair trials? No, we do not. We want justice, and quickly. And justice is whatever we deem it to be on a case-by-case basis.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“I learned a long time ago not to waste time analyzing why judges do the things they do.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“The presumption of innocence is now the presumption of guilt. The burden of proof is a travesty because the proof is often lies. Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt means if he probably did it, then let’s get him off the streets.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Sadly, dissent nowadays is considered unpatriotic, and in our post-9/11 atmosphere any criticism of those in uniform, any uniform, is stifled. Being labeled soft on crime or soft on terror is a politician’s curse.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“If a prosecutor gets caught cheating, he either gets reelected or elevated to the bench. Our system never holds a bad prosecutor accountable.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“And every defendant, regardless of how despicable the person or his crime, is entitled to a lawyer. Most laymen don’t understand this and don’t care. I don’t care either. This is my job.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Guilt beyond a reasonable doubt means if he probably did it, then let’s get him off the streets.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“But a year in jail for an innocent man is pure luck in our system.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Such is the lunacy and unfairness of the system. Huver’s witnesses, the ones testifying on behalf of the State, are cloaked with legitimacy, as if they’ve been sanctified by the authorities. Cops, experts, even snitches who’ve been washed and cleansed and spruced up in nice clothes, all take the stand and tell lies in a coordinated effort to have my client executed. But the witnesses who know the truth, and are telling it, are discounted immediately and made to look like fools.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Four months ago, he had a mild heart attack and his doctor told him to retire. He found another doctor.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“the eight warrior cops and their chief are terminated before the civil trial, they would likely become hostile witnesses against the City.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“deal with self-righteous prosecutors who lie, cheat, stonewall, cover up, ignore ethics, and do whatever it takes to get a conviction, even when they know the truth and the truth tells them they are wrong.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“They, the lawmakers, were hoodwinked by the insurance companies who are still funding the national tort reform movement, a political crusade that has been wildly successful. Virtually every state has fallen in line with caps on damages and other laws designed to keep folks away from the courthouse. So far, no one has seen a decline in insurance rates. An investigative report by my pal at the Chronicle revealed that 90 percent of our legislators took campaign money from the insurance industry. And this is considered a democracy.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Why on earth would one parent tell a seven-year-old that the other parent doesn’t like his name?”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“These are the real casualties of our wars. The war on drugs. The war on crime. Unintended victims of tough laws passed by tough politicians over the past forty years. One million young black men now warehoused in decaying prisons, idling away the days at taxpayer expense. Our prisons are packed. Our streets are filled with drugs. Who’s winning the war? We’ve lost our minds.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“nunca ha acusado de asesinato al sospechoso”
― Sergio Lledó Rando, Un abogado rebelde

“en saber finalizar a tiempo.”
― Sergio Lledó Rando, Un abogado rebelde

“James Lee Burke or Michael Connelly.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“But I learned a long time ago not to waste time analyzing why judges do the things they do.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Insanity” is a legal term, not a medical one.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Then why did we sue for $50 million when the most we can get is only $1 million?” Another question with a long answer. First, it’s called making a statement. We’re angry and fighting back, and suing for $50 million sounds much more aggressive than a mere $1 million. Second, a quirk in this already screwed-up law prohibits the jurors from knowing about the $1 million cap. They can sit through a month of testimony, evaluate the evidence, deliberate thoughtfully, and return a proper verdict of, say, $5 to $10 million. Then they go home, and the next day the judge quietly reduces the verdict down to the cap. The newspaper might trumpet another big verdict, but the lawyers and judges (and insurance companies) know the truth.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“the typical classy gal at the cage”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“room and the tension hits like a brick. Tonight we’re assigned to one half of a long room. Tadeo is moving up in the world of mixed martial arts, and we’re all beginning to sense something big. He’s lying on a table, on his stomach, naked except for his boxers, not an ounce of fat on his 130-pound body. His cousin Leo is massaging his shoulder blades. The lotion makes his light brown skin glisten. I ease around the room and speak to Norberto, his manager, Oscar, his trainer, and Miguel, his brother and workout partner. They smile when they speak to me because I, the lone gringo, am viewed as the man with the money.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Ten minutes ago, a bomb went off in the Old Courthouse, same courtroom Link got convicted in.” I’ve been in that courtroom a hundred times, so, yes, I am shocked to hear it’s been bombed. On the other hand, I’m not at all surprised to discover”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Several years ago, not long after the terror attacks on September 11, our police department managed to bilk Homeland Security out of a few million bucks so it could arm up and join the national craze of ETF—Extreme Terror Fighting. Never mind that our city is far away from the major metropolitan areas, or that there has been absolutely no sign of any jihadists around here, or that our cops already had plenty of guns and ninja gear. Forget all that—we had to be ready! So in the arms race that followed, our cops somehow got a new tank. And once they learned how to drive it, then, hell, it was time to use it.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer

“Hundreds of inmates, all in prison whites, are killing time as guards look down from a tower. Young and black, almost all of them. According to the numbers, they’re in for nonviolent drug offenses. The average sentence is seven years. Upon release, 60 percent will be back here within three years. And why not? What’s on the outside to prevent their return? They are now convicted felons, a branding they will never be able to shake. The odds were stacked against them to begin with, and now that they’re tagged as felons, life in the free world is somehow supposed to improve? These are the real casualties of our wars. The war on drugs. The war on crime. Unintended victims of tough laws passed by tough politicians over the past forty years. One million young black men now warehoused in decaying prisons, idling away the days at taxpayer expense. Our prisons are packed. Our streets are filled with drugs. Who’s winning the war? We’ve lost our minds.”
― John Grisham, Rogue Lawyer