Quotes from Paul Levine

in articulo mortis

Man is never so foolish as when he fools himself.

Success is how other people judge you," he said. "Are you driving that Ferrari, buying that house in Aspen? Excellence can't be measured in dollars. Ideals don't fit into a bank account. It's about judging yourself. Have you lived up to your principles or have you sold out?

Life may be a marathon, but sometimes you have to sprint to save a life.

In the 21st century, we'll work at home and recycle our garbage into compost. The computer will link us with the office, the grocery store, and each other. Microscopic chips and scanners will transcribe details even the most astute biographer would overlook

As much as we prize our commitment to the individual and pay lip service to the presumption of innocence, it's the government's courthouse, the government's prosecutor, and the government's judge. Every time you go to trial, you are the Miami Dolphins playing an away game against the Patriots in a January blizzard.

Dammit, she'd been warned about Solomon. He always tested new prosecutors, baited them into losing their cool, lured them into mistrials. And she wasn't totally "new." She'd handled arraignments and preliminary hearings for eight months. And hadn't she won her first two felony trials? Of course, neither one had involved Steve Slash-and-Burn Solomon

Damn poachers! And damn lawyers! Everybody wants something for nothing. But nothing worth having is free. Not water. Not mangoes. Not nothing. I've worked for everything I've got, Lassiter." He fingered his earring with one hand and held the gun with the other.

T-shirt with the slogan "Officer, I Swear to Drunk I'm Not God.

So gosh-darned crooked, he could stand in the shadow of a corkscrew and nevuh see the sun. So slippery, gittin' ahold of him is like grabbing an eel in an oil slick. So low a critter, Ah had to drain the swamp just to find him.

I have a confession to make. I hate voir dire. I despise prying into other people's lives because I wouldn't want them prying into mine.

My college coach, Joe Paterno at Penn State, once told me to stop thinking so much. "Buckle your chin strap and hit somebody. Play fast and hard, and something good will happen. Don't be afraid to lose.

Right. Bribes aren't deductible.

A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle

speed freaks with shotguns." His imagination worked up one horrific image after another. Bobby lost or injured. Bobby sold for half-a-dozen rocks of crack. The next day, Steve flew to Tallahassee, rented a car, and drove west through the

These days, I try to act with integrity, but I'm a trial lawyer, damn it. In the legal system, not everything is black-and-white. I make my living in the gray.

Maybe it's old-fashioned, but I'm opposed to sneakers without laces. Digital watches and pocket calculators, too. Gizmos that make life easier and dull our minds. Besides being unable to read or write, today's kids have trouble telling time, multiplying nine time seven, and tying their shoes

We try to live and let live, but underneath it, we're left with a smug sense of superiority about ourselves and vague disgust for others who don't measure up.

In the end, we march along a path drawn by our own moral compass. The sum total of our life experiences guides us in a way our conscious minds could never decipher. We make choices without realizing why and trigger events we never foresee. And always we rationalize who we are and why we act the way we do.

In a society without shame, where faking it is making it and deceit trumps virtue, integrity is for losers and cheaters win. Fairness? Forget about it! A meritocracy? In your dreams! Earn your diploma? Why bother, when you can buy it?

There are four kinds of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy." —Ambrose Bierce

So what's your definition?" "Two people who just have to be together," he replied without hesitation. "Two people who are not complete when they're apart. They're lovers and best friends, too. There's lust and laughter, and they can't imagine being with anyone else." "So Steve Solomon believes in romantic love?

jurors can't help themselves. They're swayed by their life experiences as much as the evidence and the law. Still, with all my bellyaching, here's the strange thing. Juries usually get it right!

SOLOMON'S LAWS 4. If you're going to all the trouble to make a fool of yourself, be sure to have plenty of witnesses.