The modern hero is a person who does something everyone thinks they could do if they were a little stronger, a little faster, a little smarter, or a little more generous. Heroes in ancient times were the link between men and perfect beings, gods. Heroes in modern times are the link between man as he is and man as he could be.

In the vice-presidential debate Dick Cheney told Edwards they had never met because of Edwards' frequent absences from the Senate but that was later proven to be incorrect. In August 2009 Rielle Hunter appeared before the grand jury investigating this matter. When asked about an increase in Caesarean deliveries nationwide perhaps to avoid similar medical malpractice lawsuits Edwards said "The question is would you rather have cases where that happens instead of having cases where you don't intervene and a child either becomes disabled for life or dies in utero?"
In 1993 Edwards began his own firm in Raleigh (now named Kirby & Holt) with a friend David Kirby.

Following Kerry's loss to incumbent President George W. Edwards's trial began on April 23 2012 and had he been convicted he would have faced up to 30 years in prison and a $1.