…And Justice for All Quotes

Context

This misquoted line is spoken by Arthur Kirkland, played by Al Pacino, in the film …And Justice for All, directed by Norman Jewison (1979).

Do you ever see real trials on TV and think, man, this is boring? Blame Al Pacino. Nobody chews the scenery like Pacino, and in the legal drama …And Justice for All he plays attorney Arthur Kirkland, who loses his cool in a way that's so extreme it's hard to imagine he had any cool in the first place. He is so frustrated with legal corruption that when the judge tells Kirkland he's out of order, Kirkland rocks the courtroom, shouting, "You're out of order! You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They're out of order!"

Many people shorten this quote to "This whole court is out of order!" With that poor attention to detail, these people will never pass the Bar.

Where you've heard it

You've heard this if an argument is getting out of hand, in or out of the courtroom.

AOL TV used this misquote in a review of Jimmy Smits' TV show Outlaw. And that's why no one trusts AOL to review anything.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

Unless you're in the legal profession, don't even try it. Even if you are, it's probably not a good idea, unless you want to be charged with contempt of court.