There is no perfect justice, just as there is no absolute in ethics. Alan Dershowitz More Quotes by Alan Dershowitz More Quotes From Alan Dershowitz I think we're seeing privacy diminish, not by laws... but by young people who don't seem to value their privacy. Alan Dershowitz law people thinking The Internet knows no national borders. Alan Dershowitz internet borders knows In the Pentagon Papers case, the government asserted in the Supreme Court that the publication of the material was a threat to national security. It turned out it was not a threat to U.S. security. But even if it had been, that doesn't mean that it couldn't be published. Alan Dershowitz government paper mean In my neighborhood, everyone had an opinion on the local cantor. You didn't go to a synagogue to listen to the rabbi's sermon. You went to listen to the cantor. It was like a concert. Alan Dershowitz synagogue concerts opinion I've written important articles on prevention, on the concept of the preventive state, how the law is moving much more in an area of trying to prevent wrongs than trying to deal with them after they occur. That will be my academic/intellectual legacy. Alan Dershowitz intellectual law moving I'm worried about privacy because of the young people who don't give a damn about their privacy, who are prepared to put their entire private lives online. They put stuff on Facebook that 15 years from now will prevent them from getting the jobs they want. They don't understand that they are mortgaging their future for a quick laugh from a friend. Alan Dershowitz jobs people years I tell my students, if you ever become comfortable with your role as criminal defense lawyer, it's time to quit. It should be a constant source of discomfort, because you're dealing with incredible moral ambiguity, and you've been cast into a role which is not enviable. Alan Dershowitz criminals defense roles I never place limits on the potential success of my students. If they're going into acting, they're going to win the Oscar... If they're going into law, they're going to be chief justice. Alan Dershowitz law winning justice I love discomfort. I mean, my whole life is discomfort. One reason I can never retire is that the idea of just sitting on the beach totally comfortable is not a desideratum in my life. I like ambiguity, I like conflict, I like uncertainly. Alan Dershowitz beach mean ideas I have been defending Israel's right to exist, and to defend itself against terrorism, for many years-on college campuses, in television appearances and in debate. Alan Dershowitz israel college years I generally don't select my chicken or my hamburgers based on the personal ideology of the person who is either flipping the hamburgers or making the money back at corporate headquarters. But if people want to do that, they're free to do it. Alan Dershowitz hamburgers want people It's every lawyer's dream to help shape the law, not just react to it. Alan Dershowitz shapes law dream I charge my wealthy clients a lot and put 10 per cent in a fund which I use to pay the expenses of my poorer clients. When the government gangs up on the poor schnook in the street, someone has to stand up for him. Alan Dershowitz government use pay I can't find anything in the Constitution that says you prefer the life of the mother, or the convenience of the mother if it's an abortion by choice, over the potential life of the fetus. Look, I think women, if they're required to not have abortions, could die and could - so I favor a woman's right to choose. Alan Dershowitz choices mother thinking I believe that if Israel were to put an end to the settlements in the West Bank tomorrow, as it did in Gaza, there would still be reluctance on the part of the Palestinian Authority to recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish secular democracy. Alan Dershowitz democracy israel believe Laws are important precisely because in a democracy they reflect the attitudes and aspirations of those they govern. Alan Dershowitz democracy law attitude You can't think about terrorism without thinking about Palestinian terrorism. Palestinians began international terrorism. It started with them in 1968. They used it as the first resort, not the last resort. They invented it, they perfected it, they benefited from it and they taught the world how to use it and that it would be successful. Alan Dershowitz successful would-be thinking Scientists search for truth. Philosophers search for morality. A criminal trial searches for only one result: proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Alan Dershowitz criminals trials doubt Individuals have the right to pick and choose which expressions to condemn, which to praise and which to say nothing about. Governments, however, must remain neutral as to the content of expression. And governments must protect the rights of all to express even the most despicable of views. Alan Dershowitz government rights views It's never acceptable to target civilians. It violates the Geneva Accords, it violates the international law of war and it violates all principles of morality. Alan Dershowitz principles law war
