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I lost court cases and misdemeanor juries, but of felony jury trials I was successful 105 of 106 times.

I just spent 11 and a half months in a maximum-security jail, got shot five times, and was wrongly convicted of a crime I didn't commit.

When you go into court you are putting your fate into the hands of twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty.

I spent time in, like, criminal courts, and covering murder trials for papers.

I've served on five different juries, and many of them were bonkers in their own way.

I was a trial lawyer when I was elected to Congress.

From childhood on, I did sit in the courtroom watching my father argue cases and talk to juries.

You had to have a unanimous jury verdict, and one percent of contributory negligence barred all recovery. It was so satisfying to realize I could do it. And I'll tell you what motivated me: competitiveness. I was betting on me. That's what a contingent-fee lawyer does.

You never know when you lose a case whether it was because the facts were against you, or because the judges had already made up their minds, or if you could have done something differently.