triviaink.com

I meant to mention this before, and now I forgot: who wrote this "ubiquitous" question? Im thinking either Staley or Phil. Whoever it is owes me a new set of glasses. Because I knew when I saw the answer, I'd smack myself in the forehead. I was a little low and caught the bridge of my nose!

It was a great question, with all the info there to divine the answer, especially from someone like me who is an avid fan of the entire franchise and has probably heard the damn phrase over 10,000 times! And extra kudos to those who got the answer..

You and me both, Paul, about being fans and hearing it spoken. It certainly feels like it could have been 10 000 times(including repeats I find it hard to believe, though, there were only 450-odd episodes shot.
I'm really going to miss that program. I was shocked to hear(last Friday) about the series finale this past Monday.

Charlene, that's 450 or so of the original-- that phrase is in all the intros, even the very short-lived Trial by Jury.

Paucle,

Actually it was I. But thanks for the kudos.

quimboat

Well then well-done, quimboat!
For the curious, I come up with 894x the phrase has been uttered just in first-run episodes. (Trial by Jury did not, in fact, use it.... but that was only 13 episodes). Then there's the in-season repeats, strip-syndication first on A&E, then on TNT and USA, re-airs of first-runs... like I said, literally tens of thousands of times since 1990.
Still can't believe the original has ended its run as of this last episode.

Law & Order
"In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two
separate yet equally important groups -- the police who investigate
crime, and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders.
These are their stories."

Special Victims Unit
"In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered
especially heinous. In New York City, the dedicated detectives who
investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known
as the Special Victims Unit. These are their stories."

Criminal Intent
"In New York City's war on crime, the worst criminal offenders are pursued
by the detectives of the Major Case Squad. These are their stories."

Trial By Jury
"In the Criminal Justice System, all defendants are innocent until proven guilty,
either by confession, plea bargain, or trial by jury. This is one of those trials"