""I accuse Alcatraz of crimes against humanity." – The lawyer "I was a weapon, but I ain't no killer." – The accused "I am not on trial here." – The warden"

"The trial that brought down Alcatraz."

"One was condemned. The other was determined. Two men whose friendship gave them the will to take on the system."

"They locked him up. They crushed his spirit. But they couldn't hide the truth."

"Blanche, Hooker: Honey, you're gonna have to get it up first. It's like trying to stick an oyster into a slot machine."

"Judge Clawson: I do not need you to tell me what is, or is not okay. In this courtroom, I am the one who decides what is, or is not okay. Okay?"

"Some men are broken by the laws that they break, unable to resist the forces that are pulling them down. Other men live by the rules that society sets down. You're not one of them."

"I got nothin'. I got nobody. I don't need a lawyer, I need a friend."

"Action: I won. Reaction: you can't never take that away from me."

"Charles Dickens once said that solitary confinement was inhumane. Seven months later, the Supreme Court agreed. As a a result of the facts brought out in the trail of The People vs. Young, the dungeons of Alcatraz were closed forever. Associate warden Glenn was brought up on charges of mistreatment. He was found guilty. He would never work in the penal system again. I remained in private practice. I also became a baseball fan. You did it, Henri!"

"Unlike many men who lived long after, Henri Young did not die in vain. In the end he was not afraid. He lived and he died in triumph. If only we could all do that."

"When you try to win, sometimes you lose sight of the goal."

"Terry O'Quinn - Bud Yancy"

"Jon Seda - Alex"

"Maura Tierney - Naomi Chance"

"Stanley Anderson - Archbishop Richard Rushman"

"Tony Plana - Martinez"

"Joe Spano - Capt. Abel Stenner"

"Steven Bauer - Joey Pinero"

"Andre Braugher - Tommy Goodman"

"Alfre Woodard - Judge Miriam Shoat"

"Frances McDormand - Dr. Molly Arrington"

"John Mahoney - John Shaughnessy"

"Edward Norton - Aaron Stampler/Roy"

"Laura Linney - Janet Venable"

"Richard Gere - Martin Vail"

"Don't believe everything you see..."

"Sooner or later a man who wears two faces forgets which one is real."

"Judge Miriam Shoat: You are making a mockery of my courtroom, and I'm not going to allow it. I suggest you start representing your client and stop representing yourself."

"Janet Venable: Do you know what I would do if someone did that to me? I would kill him—I wouldn't hesitate. I would stab him 78 times. I would chop off his fingers, slash his throat open, carve numbers in his chest, gouge out his eyes, I swear to God! But that's me."

"He come crying to me like always, stuttering and whining. "I ca-can't take it no more, Roy. You g-got to help me". I said, "Shut your mouth, you little girl! Grow up. Be a man. Take care of yourself"."

"I got you now. You're the lawyer. You're his lawyer, ain't you? With your fancy suit. I heard about you. Well, my, my, you sure fucked this one up, counselor. Sounds to me like they're gonna shoot old Aaron so full of poison it'll come out his eyes!"

"Why gamble with money when you can gamble with people's lives? That was a joke. All right, I'll tell you. I believe in the notion that people are innocent until proven guilty. I believe in that notion because I choose to believe in the basic goodness of people. I choose to believe that not all crimes are committed by bad people. And I try to understand that some very, very good people do some very bad things."

"First thing I ask a new client is, "Have you been saving for a rainy day? Well, guess what? It's raining!""

"Well, I'm not used to supposin'. I'm just a workin' man. My boss does all the supposin'-- but I'll try one. Supposin' you talk us all out of this and, uh, the kid really did knife his father?"

"[To #3 after he insults #9] What are you talkin' to him like that for? Guy talks like that to an old man really oughta get stepped on, you know. You oughta have more respect, mister. If you say stuff like that to him again... I'm gonna lay you out."

"George Voskovec - Juror #11"

"Ed Begley - Juror #10"

"Joseph Sweeney - Juror #9 (McCardle)"

"Henry Fonda - Juror #8 (Davis)"

"Jack Warden - Juror #7"

"Ed Binns - Juror #6"

"Jack Klugman - Juror #5"

"E.G. Marshall - Juror #4"

"Lee J. Cobb - Juror #3"

"John Fiedler - Juror #2"