William Murray Quotes

Every man may think his own cause just till it be heard and judged.

Mere access to the courthouse doors does not by itself assure a proper functioning of the adversary process.

I have faith in the jury system.

The judicial system is the most expensive machine ever invented for finding out what happened and what to do about it.

It is better that a guilty man should not be brought to trial than that he should be acquitted.

A fair judicial system takes time to work.

The wheels of justice sometimes turn slowly, but happily they turn.

I believe in the jury system.

I just want to believe that, as a citizen in this country, that I have equal protection under the law and that I can have a situation assessed fairly, that people can look at it, and that a court of law can determine what the outcome is.

I think some parts of the American justice system have gone haywire.

Law is a process. If there is equality of process for everybody, then that's our definition of justice. Whether or not what is done is right or wrong, you follow the process. And so, the end result is just by definition within that alternative universe that is American law. Most people still operate within a moral universe where principles of good and bad and what is right and wrong in itself, and not just as a result of the process.

The 'music' is not an open court and a fair trial.

Care should be taken that the punishment does not exceed the guilt; and also that some men do not suffer for offenses for which others are not even indicted.

Justice has taken its course and the authority and legitimacy of the legal process must be respected.

The punishment of a criminal is an example to the rabble; but every decent man is concerned if an innocent person is condemned.

This is the time that I really miss being in my courtroom because I believe that that's the last place in this country where there's supposed to be fairness.

Sentence first, verdict afterwards.

It is more dangerous that even a guilty person should be punished without the forms of law than that he should escape.

There's always such a rush to judgment. It makes a fair trial hard to get.

A defendant on trial for a specific crime is entitled to his day in court, not in a stadium or a city or nationwide arena.

Wherever they have been arraigned, a plain charge has been exhibited against them. They have had an impartial trial and have been permitted to make their defense.

Fortunately, the courts discharged me every time after they understood what I had done.

I know a lot of law officers, and every single one of them faces a moment - usually after about three hours on the job - when they realise that there's no connection between law and justice. The law, as an institution, avoids justice, subverts it, just as often as it sees it done.

Sometimes the wheels of justice grind slowly.

Trials are no longer about freeing the innocent, punishing the guilty, and making restitution to the injured. They have devolved into a contest over who will win.