A Few Good Men Quotes

Galloway: [showing up at his apartment unannounced] I'm sorry to bother you, I should have called first.
Kaffee: No, no, I was just watching a ball game. Come on in.
Galloway: I was wondering if... how'd you would feel about my taking you to dinner tonight.
Kaffee: Are you asking me out on a date?

Galloway: No...
Kaffee: It sounded like you were asking me out on a date.
Galloway: I wasn't.
Kaffee: I've been asked out on dates before, and that's what it sounded like.
Galloway: Do you like seafood? I know a good seafood place.

Capt. Ross: Why did you go into Santiago's room?
Galloway: The witness has rights!
Capt. Ross: The witness has been read his rights, Commander.
Judge Randolph: The question will be repeated.
Galloway: Your Honor!
Capt. Ross: Why did you go into Santiago's room?

Downey: Hal?
Capt. Ross: Did Lance Corporal Dawson tell you to give Santiago a Code Red?
Downey: Hal?
Capt. Ross: Don't look at him!
Dawson: Hal?
Dawson: Private, answer the captain's question!
Downey: Yes, Captain, I was given an

order by my squad leader, Lance Corporal Harold W. Dawson, United States Marine Corps, and I followed it.

Kaffee: [getting Jack's attention while his playing basketball] Jack? Jack! They were given an order.
Capt. Ross: [to his friends] I'll be right back. I'll be right back.
Galloway: How long have you known about the order?
Capt. Ross: [walking away from the basketball court] I didn't. Who's this?

Kaffee: She's Jo Galloway. She's Downey's attorney. She's very pleased to meet you.
Capt. Ross: [talking privately] What exactly are you accusing me of, Commander?
Galloway: How long have you known about the order?
Kaffee: Jack didn't know about the order because if Jack did and he didn't tell us Jack knows

he'd be violating about 14 articles of the Code of Ethics. As it is, Jack's got enough to worry about because, God forbid, our clients should decide to plead not guilty and testify for the record that they were given an order.
Capt. Ross: Kendrick specifically told those men not to touch Santiago.
Kaffee: That's right and then he went into Dawson and

Downey's room and specifically ordered them to give Santiago a code red.
Capt. Ross: That's not what Kendrick says.
Kaffee: Kendrick's lying.
Capt. Ross: You have proof?
Kaffee: I have the defendants.
Capt. Ross: And I have 23 Marines who aren't accused of murder and a Lieutenant

with 4 letters of commendation.
Kaffee: Why did Markinson go UA?
Capt. Ross: You'll never know.
Kaffee: You think I can't subpoena Markinson?
Capt. Ross: You can try but you won't find him. You know what Markinson did for the first 17 of his 26 years in the Corps? Counterintelligence. Markinson's gone;

there is no Markinson. Look, Danny, Jessup's star is on the rise. Division will give me a lot of room on this one to spare Jessup and the Corps any embarrassment.
Kaffee: How much room?
Capt. Ross: I'll knock it all down to involuntary manslaughter, two years they'll be home in six months.
Galloway: No deal, we're going to

court.
Capt. Ross: No, you're not.
Galloway: Why not?
Capt. Ross: Because you'll lose and Danny knows it. And Danny also knows that if it does go to court then that means I'm going to have to go all the way. His clients are going to get charged with the whole truckload. Murder. Conspiracy. Conduct unbecoming. And even though

he's got me by the balls out here Danny knows that in a court room he loses this case. You see, Danny's an awfully talented lawyer and he's not about to let his clients go to jail for life when he knows that they could be home in six months. That's the end of this negotiation. I'll see you tomorrow morning at the arraignment.

Kaffee: [in an empty hallway after work hours] You and Dawson, you both live in the same dream world. It doesn't matter what I believe. It only matters what I can prove! So please, don't tell me what I know or don't know. I know the LAW.
Galloway: You know nothing about the law. You're a used- car salesman, Daniel. You're an ambulance chaser with a rank.

You're nothing. Live with that.

Kaffee: [ariving in the conference room after the meeting has already started] Excuse me, sorry I'm late.
Capt. Whitaker: That's alright, Danny, I know you don't have a good excuse, so I won't force you to come up with a bad one.
Kaffee: [gratefully, nods] Thank you, sir.
Capt. Whitaker: The first one's for

you. Seems you're moving up in the world, you've been requested by Division.
Kaffee: Requested to do what?
Capt. Whitaker: Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A Marine corporal named Dawson illegally fires a round of his weapon over the fence line and into Cuban territory.
Kaffee: What's a fence line?
Capt. Whitaker:

Sam.
Lt. Weinberg: A big wall separating the good guys from the bad guys.
Kaffee: [sarcastically] Teacher's pet.
Capt. Whitaker: PFC William Santiago threatens to rat on Dawson to the Naval Investigative Service. Dawson, and another member of his squad PFC Louden Downey, go into Santiago's barracks room, tie him up, stuff a

rag down his throat. An hour later Santiago's dead. The attending physician says the rag was treated with some kind of toxin.
Kaffee: They poisoned the rag?
Capt. Whitaker: Not according to them.
Kaffee: What do they say?
Capt. Whitaker: Not much. They're being flown up here tomorrow. Then Wednesday at

0600 you're catching a transport down to Cuba for the day to find out what you can. In the meantime, go see Lieutenant Commander Joanne Galloway of internal affairs. Any questions?
Kaffee: That flight to Cuba, was that 0600 in the morning? Sir?
Capt. Whitaker: It seems important to Division that this one be handled by the book so I'm assigning

co-counsel. Any volunteers?
Lt. Weinberg: No!
Capt. Whitaker: Sam.
Lt. Weinberg: Sir, I've got a stack of papers on my desk about a mile high.
Capt. Whitaker: Work with Kaffee on this.
Lt. Weinberg: Doing what? Kaffee will have this done in about four days.
Capt.

Whitaker: Doing various administrative things. Backup. Whatever.
Lt. Weinberg: In other words I have no responsibilities whatsoever.
Capt. Whitaker: Right.

Capt. Ross: [confirming Danny's bluff to Jessup after court has adjourned for the day] Airmen Cecil O'Malley and Anthony Rodriguez, what exactly were these guys going to testify to?
Kaffee: Unless I'm mistaken, they were both going to testify under oath that they had absolutely no recollection of anything.
Capt. Ross: [sarcastically]

Strong witnesses.
Kaffee: [jokingly] And handsome too, didn't you think?

Kaffee: [feeling guilty after having lost his temper] Is your father proud of you?
Lt. Weinberg: Don't do this to yourself
Kaffee: I'll bet he is, I'll bet he bores the shit out of the neighbors and relatives, "Sam's made Law Review, his working on a big case right now, his arguing, his making an argument
Lt.

Weinberg: I ever tell you I wrote a paper about your father in college?
Kaffee: Yeah
Lt. Weinberg: One of the best trial lawyers ever
Kaffee: Yes, he was
Lt. Weinberg: If I were Dawson and Downey and if I had to choose between you or your father to represent me in this case I'd choose you any

day of the week and twice on Sunday, you should've seen yourself thunder away at Kendrick
Kaffee: Would you put Jessup on the stand?
Lt. Weinberg: No
Kaffee: You think my father would?
Lt. Weinberg: With the evidence we got, not in a million years, see here's the thing and there's no way of getting

around this, neither Lionel Kaffee nor Sam Weinberg in lead counsel for the defense on the matter of the U.S. versus Dawson and Downey would you put Colonel Nathan Jessup on the stand, so there's only one question, " what would you do?"

Kaffee: [Defense opening statement] There was no poison on the rag and there was no intent to kill, and any attempt to prove otherwise is futile because it just isn't true. When Dawson and Downey entered Santiago's room that night, it wasn't because of vengeance or hatred; it wasn't to kill or harm. And it wasn't because they were looking for "kicks" on a Friday night. It was what

they were ordered to do. Let me say that again, *it was what they were ordered to do*. Out in the real world, it means nothing, and in the Washington navy yard it doesn't mean a whole lot more, but if you're a marine assigned rifle company Windward Guantánamo Bay Cuba, if you're given an order you follow it or you pack your bags. Make no mistake about it, Harold W. Dawson and Private Louden

Downey are sitting before you today because they did their job.