Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (TV Series)

Influence (2006)

Diane Neal: ADA Casey Novak

Quotes 

• A.D.A. Casey Novak : It's easy to judge mental illness if you've never had to deal with it yourself.

• Detective Olivia Benson : You did what you had to, Casey, you saved yourself.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : Yeah, but nobody saved him.

• Malcolm Shaw : You sent her home? That girl tried to ruin my son's life.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : I understand how you must feel, Mr. Shaw.

  Malcolm Shaw : I doubt it. They're throwing Cameron out of school. He graduates in five weeks. He could lose his scholarship.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : Your son violated Lanchester Prep's code of conduct by having sex on school grounds.

  Malcolm Shaw : Cameron was never in trouble a day in his life. It's that damn girl! She seduced him!

  Detective Olivia Benson : Nobody forced Cameron into that bathroom.

  Malcolm Shaw : That girl made false charges against my son. That's a crime. I want her charged.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : I'll decide that after I review the evidence.

  Detective Olivia Benson : We bent over backwards to get the facts before we arrested your son. Jamie Hoskins deserves the same consideration.

  Malcolm Shaw : Fine. But if she's not arrested, you'll read about it in the newspaper. White girl lies about being raped by a black boy and just walks away. They'll be all over it.

  [leaves Novak's office] 

  Detective Olivia Benson : Well, I guess we know where he stands. How about you?

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : He has a point. Jamie did file a false report with the police.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Jamie made a mistake, but she's paying for it. I mean, she also got kicked out of school.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : Cameron's dad isn't gonna go away anytime soon and Danny Morrison's lawyer is on my voicemail.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Those boys got themselves expelled. And as for Jamie, she lied to us. It was our time she wasted.

• A.D.A. Casey Novak : Did you attempt suicide again after you left the hospital?

  Derek Lord : No.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : And you're a famous rock star with millions of fans. Isn't it possible that psychiatric therapy didn't just improve your life but may in fact have saved it?

• Captain Donald Cragen : [about Derek Lord]  What makes a rock musician think he's an expert on psychiatry?

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : That's a good question. If I could, I'd charge Derek Lord as a co-defendant.

  Detective Olivia Benson : First Amendment says that he's got a right to his opinion.

  Captain Donald Cragen : This is one hell of a mess.

  Detective Olivia Benson : Look, I screwed up. Jamie was upset. I should have never let her go home.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : You had no reason to hold her. You couldn't know she'd steal her parents' car.

  Captain Donald Cragen : She ran down those people right after we released her. Makes us look negligent. The sooner we charge this girl, the better.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : It's not that simple. Jamie was having an acute psychotic episode.

  Captain Donald Cragen : Which she suffered after choosing to stop taking her medication.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : We already have one dead girl. So who benefits from destroying the life of another?

  Detective Olivia Benson : She's got a point, Captain.

  Captain Donald Cragen : What are you suggesting?

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : Probation with mandatory counseling.

  Captain Donald Cragen : For vehicular manslaughter?

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : I'm not gonna throw the book at this girl just to satisfy your bosses downtown.

  Captain Donald Cragen : This wasn't some disturbed homeless person. This girl had the best drugs and treatment available.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : Yeah, which her idol told her to stop taking.

  Captain Donald Cragen : Okay. This is your call. You just remember we got two boys whose lives were ruined by her false allegations. A dead girl and half a dozen others injured when Jamie mowed them down. Now, you let her walk, your ass is on the line right next to mine.

• Derek Lord : Ms. Novak, psychiatry has damaged countless lives. Elena Ramirez is just the latest victim.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : I'm not here to debate the legitimacy of psychiatric medicine, but I do think it's unfair to Jamie to use her trial as a platform for your political views.

  Derek Lord : They're not just my views. Libertarians, fundamentalist Christians, scientologists. Even practicing psychiatrists. There are caring people that have been fighting this battle ever since German psychiatrists were convicted of war crimes at Nuremberg.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : I can call on any number of experts to testify that psychiatry not only helps people, it saves lives.

  Derek Lord : Psychiatry is a corrupt instrument of social control. No offense, Ms. Novak, but you're a lawyer.

  A.D.A. Casey Novak : And you're a rock star, so you'll understand if I don't defer to your expertise on the subject.