Randolph "Randy" J. Dworkin is a defense attorney who was an adversary to Executive ADA Jack McCoy.
History[]
In "Chosen", it is stated that he attended Harvard Law School, clerked for federal Judge Tattleman in the Southern District, and worked six years for the Pettijohn Burser firm. Dworkin was offered a partnership but turned it down in order to start his own practice. In the same episode, after losing the case, Dworkin joined McCoy and Serena for a celebratory drink, showing no anger at losing. Instead, he just expressed a hope that God was more sympathetic to his client than the people of the state of New York.
In "Thinking Makes It So", he represented a man who Detective Fontana used excessive force on to rescue a little girl. While talking with McCoy privately, Dworkin admits his own moral reservations about his client and that he wouldn't mind seeing the man locked up in prison for the rest of his life. The two men discuss the moral implications of using torture to save someone's life and their own mixed feelings about Fontana possibly doing so.
On the stand, Dworkin presses Fontana on his use of excessive force and attempts to use it to get the case dismissed. However, Borgia manages to use inevitable discovery to counter this and the case continues. In his closing statement, Dworkin points out how kind his client was to his victim compared to Fontana's excessive force while McCoy counters by pointing out that fairness and justice are not the same thing. Dworkin's client is found guilty on all charges and Dworkin admits to McCoy that he's fine with how the verdict turned out. Dworkin asks McCoy hypothetically if McCoy would've been fine with Fontana doing the same with a family member or pet to force the man to talk. When McCoy has no answer, Dworkin admits that "yeah, I don't know either."
In "Gone Fishin'", it is stated that he clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia and primarily represents defendants in federal court.
In "The Undiscovered Country", he is hired by ADA Rafael Barba when he is charged with second-degree murder for euthanizing a brain-dead, terminally ill baby. Although Barba is initially unsure about working with Dworkin due to his usual antics, he ultimately agrees to hire him and let him go up against Jack McCoy's special counsel, Peter Stone. Barba is eventually acquitted of murder.
Personality[]
While a brilliant lawyer, Dworkin is known for his theatrics in court while defending his clients to the point that Arthur Branch called Dworkin a clown and McCoy once asked Dworkin if he's ever serious. Outside of court, Dworkin maintains an easy-going demeanor, but is somewhat more serious. When he's defeated in court, Dworkin is known to take his defeats in stride and even occasionally share a drink with the prosecution afterwards.
Despite defending his clients to the best of his ability, Dworkin is shown to have a moral code that extends beyond his job. While defending Mitchell Lowell, Dworkin privately admitted that he'd like to see his client locked up as well while trying to get him exonerated and had no issue with the man being found guilty despite his best efforts. During the case, Dworkin discussed his moral reservations openly with ADA Jack McCoy, particularly as Detective Joe Fontana had used excessive force to find a young girl Lowell had kidnapped. After the case was over, Dworkin brought up the hypothetical scenario of Fontana using the same force on Lowell's family or pets to get the answers and admitted he didn't know whether or not he would've found that okay in the situation.
Known Clients[]
- Steven Strelzik (L&O: "Chosen")
- Brian Kellogg (L&O: "Bounty")
- Mitchell Lowell (L&O: "Thinking Makes It So")
- Byron Marks (SVU: "Gone Fishin'")
- Rafael Barba (SVU: "The Undiscovered Country")
Trivia[]
- According to one of the episode scene cards in the episode "The Undiscovered Country", Dworkin's office is located on 123 Leonard Street.
Appearances[]
- Law & Order (3 seasons, 3 episodes):
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1 season, 2 episodes):