Law & Order (TV Series)

The Wheel (2002)

Chris Sarandon: Defense Attorney Howard Pincham

Quotes 

• Jack McCoy : You know, Mr. Chen, I've been thinking of traveling to China.

  Li Chen : I'm very happy for you...

  Jack McCoy : Of course, I'd go to Beijing, but I'd wanna see more. Would your hometown be of any interest?

  Li Chen : Well, Tianjin is a beautiful city.

  Jack McCoy : But would an American appreciate its beauty? Well, Mr. Pincham thought so.

  Howard Pincham : Stop.

  Howard Pincham : You visited Tianjin, did you?

  Howard Pincham : That has no bearing on this case.

  Jack McCoy : On the contrary. If we go to trial, I could call you as a witness to testify about the detention camps, or lack thereof, whatever the case may be. That puts you... No, that puts your entire firm in a precarious legal position. Serena, why don't you start drafting a brief to have Mr. Pincham's law firm disqualified?

  Howard Pincham : This is ridiculous.

  Jack McCoy : Perhaps. But look at all those fees your firm will lose if a judge agrees with me.

• Arthur Branch : Howard! I didn't think they let Harvard men in here unescorted.

  Howard Pincham : I'm meeting O'Keefe for dinner.

  Arthur Branch : [Holding newspaper]  Did you see this? Second Circuit reversed Barsky.

  Howard Pincham : I could have you disbarred for this, Arthur.

  Arthur Branch : For having a drink?

  Howard Pincham : You told McCoy I visited Tianjin. Just because you left the firm doesn't mean you can disclose confidential information about my dealings with clients.

  Arthur Branch : If you recall, I skipped your home movies of that trip.

  Howard Pincham : Splitting hairs doesn't become you, Arthur. We'll just have to see what the Ethics Committee thinks. Unless of course...

  Arthur Branch : Are you trying to extort a deal out of me, Howard?

  Howard Pincham : A proposal, that's all. Suppose I turn my back on this Bar Association thing, and you agree to send Mr. Chen back to China.

  Arthur Branch : So he can be tried for murder by his own people.

  Howard Pincham : Exactly - by a culture that understands him.

  Arthur Branch : Sounds good.

  Howard Pincham : Ah, I knew you'd be reasonable.

  Arthur Branch : Reasonable, but not stupid. Back home, Chen might receive a medal of honor for murdering Helen Quan.

  Howard Pincham : You love this, don't you? Squeezing me into a corner.

  Arthur Branch : Just doin' my job.

  Howard Pincham : Only Chen didn't kill that girl and you don't have any evidence to prove he did.

  Arthur Branch : And he doesn't have an alibi. We know he wasn't feeling particularly frisky that night.

  Howard Pincham : If you're talking about the call girls, that's not Chen's thing.

  Arthur Branch : What is?

  Howard Pincham : A dry vodka martini from the Beekman Hotel around the corner.

• Judge Susan Lehman : How does your client plead?

  Howard Pincham : He doesn't.

  Judge Susan Lehman : Excuse me?

  Judge Susan Lehman : Mr. Chen has consular immunity. It was improper for these charges to have been brought against him at all. I demand that you release him immediately.

  Judge Susan Lehman : You know, I'd love to, Mr. Pincham, but your client's charged with murder, not a parking ticket.

  Howard Pincham : Your sarcasm offends me, Your Honor.

  Judge Susan Lehman : Then go back to the white-collar world where people say "please" before they screw you to the wall. Now, you've got until "three" to give me a plea. One...

  Li Chen : Not Guilty, Your Honor.

  Howard Pincham : With the stipulation on the record that this is not an implicit submission to this court's jurisdiction.

  Judge Susan Lehman : You know, M. Chen, your attorney's worth every penny he's picking from your pocket.

  Serena Southerlyn : Your Honor, under the circumstances, the risk of flight is high...

  Judge Susan Lehman : Save your breath, Counselor. Defendant is remanded without bail.