A dogged prosecutor, she pushed the detectives to make cases for the sake of politics in favor of pursuing actual offenders. Amaro then meets the boy and tells the woman that her boyfriend is using their son to deal drugs. Rita Calhoun is played by the inimitable Elizabeth Marvel, who many might recognize for her roles in House of Cards, where she plays Heather Dunbar, or Homeland, where she plays President Elizabeth Keane. Lake disappears while his fellow detectives investigate. Alexandra Cabot by District Attorney Nora Lewin. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit deals with criminals of an especially horrific nature, with Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and her team racing against the clock to keep the streets of NYC safe . 3. From season 7 through 12, the SVU ADAs work without a Bureau Chief supervising their work, and are watched more closely by the District Attorney. If there's any tragically terrible ones, please tell me lol. West then assumes the temporary ADA role for the final two episodes in season 12. Amanda Rollins is a detective from Atlanta, Georgia, who moves to New York City to join the Special Victims Unit. "Jackie Wilson" star Pam Grier has been on "SVU" twice, guest-starring as Asst. Grace Muncy ahead of the NBC . In the episode "Spiraling Down", Benson gives Ellis' card to the defendant's wife, whose husband is a former football star who suffers from diminished capacity. Having worked undercover with the NYPD Vice Unit, she is called on by Benson to assist SVU in building a case against an influential media mogul. Paul Robinette Law & Order. She is the prosecutor in seven episodes, sharing the ADA duties with Casey Novak and Bureau Chief Mike Cutter. But when they find the victim and she confesses to why she killed her rapist, Porter understands why Benson is passionate for working sex crimes. In his first appearance at Law & Order: SVU, Stone attends his father's funeral before being brought in to prosecute Barba. Benson is able to get Rhodes to admit that he was abused when he was a child by the head of a camp in New York, which allows Ellis to argue that Rhodes' original defense attorney never presented that during the trial. Fans of the show may have noticed that a re-run episode ran on March 2, 2023. His first case (seen) is the case of a homeless boy burned to death by a high school student. She discovers he is being investigated by police for stalking, but in the season 8 episode "Florida", it is revealed he is being set up by the police captain after Simon holds her hostage. Within the series, it is eventually said he left Baltimore after his wife cheated on him with a friend. As seen in "Heartfelt Passages", Sgt. She admits to Benson that she was somewhat responsible for the woman absconding from custody and therefore took on the case due to "unfinished business." [56] In the seventh season, he works as a defense attorney on a case with Casey Novak as ADA in the episode "Raw", where he defends a Neo-Nazi group. Stabler abruptly retires from the Special Victims Unit after he shoots and kills a teenage girl who was recklessly firing a gun in the squad room. TV's longest-running primetime drama stars Mariska Hargitay as Capt. Although he is found innocent, he decides that it is time to move on from the DA's office.[46]. During the season 13 episode, "Learning Curve", Ken asks for Sergeant Munch's help in revealing to his father that he is getting married. When Pamela begins to show signs of memory loss, believing that he is their father, Stone reluctantly increases her medication on her doctor's advice, concerned that stopping the medication could cause her to become suicidal. The sharp defense attorney would clash with the SVU team several times. Season four, episode 20 featured a celebrity-stacked guest cast, including Josh Ritter, Frank Langella, and "The Vampire Diaries" star Ian Somerhalder. In the seventeenth episode ("Pursuit"), she returns again to help an old friend, Alicia Harding (Debra Messing), who is being stalked. Her role in the escape leads to mishaps in the justice system being termed "doing a Donnelly" for many years to follow. A patrol car pulls up, and two officers draw their weapons, as Cassidy identifies himself as police. He soon begins to grow into the job and bond with them, particularly as he reveals that he was a professional baseball player in the Chicago Cubs' minor league system, briefly called up to the major leagues, but was forced to retire from the game due to injury that tore his ligament. When the officers pull the woman off her, Greylek tells Stabler to charge her with assault. She later appears in the season 11 episode "Turmoil", meeting ADA Cabot outside the courtroom after Cabot discovers she is being investigated by the state bar. In my view, one more defense attorney deserves mention: William (Bill) Patton (played by Bill Moor). Law And Order Svu Defense Attorneys Cast. Cutter's office does not drop the charges, even when the producer's son takes his father's girlfriend and her daughter hostage and demands that his father be set free. Benson convinces Porter to help her search for the girl even though Porter was aggravated with Benson and her obsession on finding the girl. Porter returns a few episodes later in the episode "Screwed", when the SVU squad is under fire due to Fin's stepson Darius (Ludacris) being on trial for murder. the NYPD of racially profiling the defendant, who is African-American, and reveals that Tutuola and Rollins frisked three identical suspects - all of which result in Cutter losing the case. Kim Greylek was the SVU's Assistant District Attorney who replaced Casey Novak at the beginning of season 10. After defense attorney Bayard Ellis questions their relationship and threatens to expose them, Haden and Benson have to decide how they are going to handle the case without having their judgement clouded. In September 2021, it was announced that Gray Hyder would leave the show after the two-hour premiere of season 23.[29]. In the season 14 finale, Benson and ADA Barba pursue justice for Lewis' victims and attempt to get him locked up for good; but again, Lewis walks on a technicality. In the season 10 episode "Persona", Donnelly takes a leave of absence from her role as a judge and resumes her previous role as an Executive ADA to prosecute a cold case she was involved with in 1974, when a battered woman (Brenda Blethyn) murdered her husband. Donald . Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to two consecutive life in prison sentences on Friday. This groundbreaking series from executive producer Dick Wolf's "Law & Order" franchise chronicles the ripped-from-the-headlines investigations of the NYPD's Special Victims Unit. Dr. Elizabeth Rodgers was a recurring character in the Law & Order franchise. [14] His wife, Maria Grazie Amaro (Laura Benanti), is doing overseas reporting in Iraq. During a case involving child abuse, Beck tries to foster a traumatized adopted girl, who attempts to burn down her apartment and kill them both. Lahti appeared in 7 episodes of SVU as Paxton, more than any other character in the Executive ADA capacity. However, when Benson confronts him during the trial and he admits he sympathizes with Barba but cannot ignore the prosecution because he fears it will set a bad example to others, she urges him to talk to Barba and be more reasonable with him. He frequently observes interrogations of suspects, advising detectives on how to best interact to obtain a confession. When asked why he hadn't made a solo album since 2006 during an interview with Variety, the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star revealed he just doesn't connect with the modern day rappers and . Most recently, Elizabeth has appeared in Netflix's Unbelievable, Hulu's Helstrom, and the movies Native Son and News of the World. West manages to get Mazelon to allocute, which he did falsely, but Stabler wished for West to call for a recess. : 468: 2 "Battle Lines" Milena Govich: Art Alamo: September 29, 2022 (): 2202: 4.40: A politician's daughter is found dead after an apparent mugging; once Cosgrove and Shaw start to unravel the . [17] In "Street Revenge", while trying to work a case of vigilante justice, he shadows his wife to see where she goes during the day; he later gets into a heated argument with his wife at the SVU squad room (after going to Philadelphia and assaulting a military friend of hers), and she tells him she is seeing a psychiatrist because she is trying to adapt back into her old life. [12][13] During his early days in SVU, Amaro has a tough time adjusting to the cases and tells Benson he has the urge to physically assault a suspect, but she tells him the better solution would be to ensure that the perpetrators never see the light of day. Marsden was being looked at by River Park, NJ police on suspicion of rape. As the case develops, so does their relationship, as they share dinner and a kiss at the end of the episode. At the end of the episode, he serves as a pallbearer for Sgt. Haden and the SVU detectives are threatened by the CEO (John Doman), but Haden dismisses the threat, telling Benson, "This is what I live for." Very little is known about Huang's personal life, other than that he is gay, which he noted in season 11's "Hardwired", has a sister (noted in "Inheritance"), and that he speaks Cantonese and Mandarin. She ended the relationship when his symptoms became so severe she felt she could no longer be intimate with him. His biological parents saw him . Kathy returned to L&O:SVU after a 10-year hiatus along with her husband, Elliot. When the suspect is brutally beaten in the SVU holding cell by an officer, West assures the judge that violence against the defendant will not occur again. [15] Amanda also was exposed as a heavy gambler in the episode "Home Invasions". He has opened numerous investigations on Detectives Stabler, Benson, Amaro, and Rollins and frequently feuded with Captain Cragen. Kim has also suffered repeated abuse by her ex-boyfriend. When Benson faces perjury charges after Lewis's suicide, Murphy lies under oath to persuade the grand jury to dismiss, saying that Benson did what she had to do to save the girl Lewis had kidnapped. She talks Benson through life-saving techniques before the woman lets her go to get real medical attention. His helicopter crashed three times and he received a Purple Heart. It is implied that friend and former boss Liz Donnelly (Judith Light) aided in her censure, leading to her replacement by ADA Kim Greylek in season 10. In the season 9 episode "Paternity", Kathy and Detective Benson are involved in a car accident while Benson was helping Elliot by bringing Kathy to the doctor for a check-up. Lewis is found not guilty on the rape charge but guilty on the kidnapping charge, as well as assault of a police officer. After Vice Officer Rachel Wilson blames Tucker for ignoring her rape at the hands of Internal Affairs Officer Gary Wald before her suicide, Tucker records a confession from Wald to make things right. Although Benson is at first wary of Haden, they are both surprised to find they work well together. When Cragen discovered her problem, he threatened to take her badge, but decided to help insteadsince he is a recovering alcoholicby requiring her to attend Gamblers Anonymous meetings. Stabler quasi-apologizes for not trusting him, but Tutuola dismisses his apology because he believes Stabler will always be the same "bulldog". In "Hunting Ground", Haden and Benson's relationship becomes romantic as they work together to catch a serial killer; they are shown on a date and later sleeping together. Law list of defense attorneys the drama skipped the. Dodds is currently the first major character in any Law & Order series to portray an NYPD officer holding the rank of deputy chief. It is discovered that the officer who shot him was contracted by Ganzel to shoot Cassidy after Ganzel finds the bugs that the DA's office had installed in his loft. In "Return of the Prodigal Son," she is approaching a rental car she intends to drive when a bomb goes off and she is caught in the blast radius. He was 65. Benson asks Ellis to give her some time to find the real rapist, which she does, or she will tell the District Attorney about her relationship with EADA Haden. Benson enlists attorney Bayard Ellis to act as Simon's lawyer, but she is shocked when Captain Cragen alerts her that Simon has kidnapped the children from foster care. Avery Hemmings (Michelle Borth) was the hidden villainess of "Trade", episode 9.18 of Law & Order: SVU (airdate May 6, 2008). [37], TV Guide described the character as an "overbearing", "nasty" alcoholic. [18], In the season 14 premiere, Amaro's wife decides to take a job in Washington, D.C., citing that they need a break from each other. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a spin-off of the crime drama Law & Order, follows the detectives who work in the "Special Victims Unit" of the 16th Precinct of the New York City Police Department, a unit that focuses on crimes involving rape, sexual assault, and child molestation, as well as any crime loosely connected with any of the three, such as domestic violence, kidnapping, and child . [27] Rollins' previously mentioned troubled sister, Kim (Lindsay Pulsipher), comes to New York in the season 14 episode, "Friending Emily", causing problems for Amanda while she is trying to work a case. Grier appears in the episodes "Pandora" and "Disappearing . She also had a recurring role on Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent and appeared in one episode of Law & Order: Trial by Jury and Exiled: A Law & Order Movie. She tries to apologize for her actions after the case is over, but Munch holds no grudge. M.E. The two doctors have radically different training and education: Olivet is a clinical psychologist with a Ph.D. earned through graduate studies and a research-based dissertation; whereas Skoda is a physician, a doctor of medicine specializing in psychiatry. Executive ADA David Haden, the prosecutor who is re-investigating the case and Benson's love interest, is confronted by Ellis about their relationship and threatens to expose them if they didn't do the right thing. In "Heartfelt Passages", Dodds is shot in the stomach during a hostage situation. As Benson returns to identify herself as police, the patrol officer shoots Cassidy twice. He also has a sister named Pamela (Amy Korb) who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and whom their father committed to a psychiatric hospital. Barba is a headstrong, by-the-book prosecutor, who puts pressure on not only the detectives, but also the victims and witnesses. Lake is found, wounded, and taken to the hospital. Moredock recuses himself from the case, in which a rapist claims he was driven by pornography to sexually assault women. After not appearing in season 16, the first season he did not appear in since joining the show in season 2, Huang returns in the season 17 episode, "Depravity Standard." "[41], In an interview with HollywoodOutbreak.com, Lahti said she believed that her character struck a huge chord in the show, "when those episodes were airing, everywhere I went, people came up to me and said how much they hate me", others approached Lahti and praised her, saying, "We love that youre so mean to Stabler (Christopher Meloni). Kwasi Tutuola or as he prefers Ken Randall is Detective Tutuola's son and is first mentioned in "Counterfeit", where Fin stated he loved old cop weapons. Carisi initially has trouble defending her and nearly resigns, but chooses to stay on the case after encouragement from Benson. Pieces of the confession begin to fall apart as Munch and Rollins finds evidence missing in the cold case file and the boyfriend of the victim admits to having a romantic relationship with Agent Lewis. The last thing Lewis tells Benson is that his death will be the last thing she will see before she dies. Both Cabot and Novak were previously supervised by Bureau Chief ADA Elizabeth Donnelly, before she was elevated to judgeship in season 7. During "She Paints For Vengeance", he is assigned his first case when a young stripper/aspiring artist (Tonya Glanz) is raped by a former athlete. After rushing to put Paley on the stand to testify, Barba and the detectives discover that she did not write the book, which forces Barba to get creative with the trial. Amaro drives to Philadelphia, where her friend lives, punches him, and tells him to stay away from his wife. In the season 14 premiere, Bureau Chief ADA Paula Foster reveals to Detective Benson that Cassidy is working undercover for her. In the following episode, "Street Revenge", Amaro sees her meet for lunch with the same military friend who appeared in "Spiraling Down". 7. In addition to his own private practice, he often testifies for the prosecution as an expert witness on whether a defendant is legally sane to stand trial. Carisi takes the stand in Ethan's trial and admits what Mia told him. 5. Learn more about the full cast of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit with news, photos, videos and more at TV Guide His partner was Detective Monique Jeffries. Barba tells the detectives to uncover anything and everything about Paley and her attacker. Because of Benson's involvement with a "fugitive", she is suspended for some time, which is made known in the season 9 premiere "Alternate". When Lewis turns out to be a serial rapist and murderer, Barba tries to put him in prison, but Lewis lawyer (and lover) manages to get the charges dropped. One of these criminals, the leader of the aforementioned supremacist group, ordered a fellow inmate to attack and rape her in the season 12 episode "Penetration". In the episode "Poisoned Motive", Rollins is shot by a sniper in front of the precinct. At the end of this episode, Amaro watches his wife enter an unknown brownstone, and he has the increased suspicion that she is having an affair. Morally, Murphy has shown himself to be flexible. Then, in the episode's final scene, Benson rejoins Barba at Forlini's for one last call before the bar closes. In the Season 7 episode "Web", Morales takes a hands on approach in the investigation of an Internet pornography site. Later in the episode "Deadly Ambition", Kim returns to New York beaten by her ex-boyfriend Jeff and claiming to be pregnant. Tutuola and Stabler comment about how they have been burning through ADAs and maybe West cut the deal to cover Stabler so that they would like her. Benson lies and denies that she had him restrained, that he had broken free and she had to harm him to subdue him; this drives Lewis into a rage during his cross testimony with her. On September 28, 2021, after an 11-year hiatus, NBC announced that the series would be revived for . In the District Attorney's office, she serves as the supervisor for ADA Cabot and her successor Casey Novak. He makes it through surgery, but he later suffers a stroke in the ICU and is put on life support. These 'SVU' Faves Have Actually Appeared on the Show Before, Peter Scanavino Has Been on More 'Law & Order's Than Any Other 'SVU' Regular, Latest Law & Order: Special Victims Unit News and Updates. Elliot is Catholic, which sometimes complicates the cases he works on, but also helps him form a close friendship with ADA Novak. He was 65. He initially has a rocky relationship with his colleagues in SVU, especially his partner John Munch and Olivia Benson. Amaro begins to question the confession when the boyfriend of the victim comes to the precinct and Lewis says that he was an old friend from when they dated in college at Tulane University. 108 rows ned eisenberg. She developed a deep compassion for the mentally ill afterward, but still feels guilty for not being able to help him, as shown in season 9's "Blinded." In season 10, she makes a surprise return to SVU as the temporary ADA, replacing ADA Greylek, for six episodes, starting with the episode "Lead". Serena Stevens on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. Three of the regular characters have appeared as regulars in other NBC series: Captain Donald Cragen (Florek), who was on the first three seasons of Law & Order; ADA Alexandra Cabot (March), who led the cast of Conviction; and Sergeant John Munch (Belzer), as a Baltimore detective in Homicide: Life on the Street. As the trial goes on, it is discovered that the defendant suffers from lead poisoning caused by Chinese-made products. Benson and Stabler believed the case was a drug-deal gone bad with involvement from a Mexican drug cartel. Benson had mixed feelings about this. As seen in "Heartfelt Passages", Dep. The ruse is revealed, making Miller so angry that he incriminates himself - just as Stone planned. RELATED: 10 Longest Spans Of Time An Actor Played The Same Character In . In her final episode, "Bombshell", Hardwicke attempts to convict twins Cassandra (Rose McGowan) and Doug (Ryan Hurst)who are also in a sexual relationshipfor their involvement in a man's brutal stabbing along with fraud crimes in New York and Miami. 2. [34], Lahti again returned to SVU for two episodes, in the series' twelfth season. The Silent Epidemic Affecting Generation Z. and she is taking their daughter with her. Hargitay returned to her role as Benson in the following episode. It is revealed in the season 14 premiere that Haden's name came up on the wire tap in the investigation of an escort service. Barba was the best DA Carisi is a better cop than attorney. When the taker demands Detective Stabler to come out of the office, he gives Warner his second gun, which she later uses to shoot the taker to prevent him from committing suicide by cop. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. He is portrayed by Titus Welliver, who also portrayed Tom Landricks in an earlier . After they finally find Marsden holding the River Park Police Captain hostage, it is discovered that the Captain is setting Marsden up, and Porter decides to drop charges the FBI had against Marsden. In the season 7 episode "Blast", she becomes directly involved in the efforts to rescue an eight-year-old kidnapping victim who has just been diagnosed with leukemia. Amaro is called to the stand by ADA Derek Strauss and he is asked questions about his undercover work. Within the Law & Order universe, she's played three more characters: Sylvia Moon and Jenny Hendry in Criminal Intent, and Defense Attorney Grubman in two episodes of the original L&O. In Psycho/Therapist, Barba faces Lewis in court when the latter acts as his own lawyer and accuses Benson of assaulting him. Lewis represents himself and maneuvers to force Benson to take the stand and tell everyone what he did to her and what she did to him; crippling him in one leg, damaging numerous internal organs, and even deafening him in one ear. He separates from his wife Kathy during seasons 7 and 8, but they reconcile after she becomes pregnant with their fifth child. Initially, Amaro did not see eye to eye with his new partner, Detective Benson, mainly because she was adjusting to having him as a partner instead of Elliot Stabler. And everyone, including stars . In the season 14 premiere, after Amaro delays talking to her about their issues, he finally begins to apologize when she tells him that she has taken a job in Los Angeles, California. Porter returns in the season 9 episode "Savant" when SVU is working on a case where a girl with Williams syndrome heard her mother being beaten and raped. Dr. Huang was last seen in a main role during the season 12 episode "Bombshell" in which he helps Benson and Stabler get information out of a homeless man. She is a Brooklyn ADA who transfers to Manhattan SVU due to her great admiration for detectives Benson and Stabler. Geoffrey Downs. But the revelation that the fugitive had been pregnant at the time of her crime leads Donnelly to what, for her, is an act of leniency. She replaces Mikka Von (Paula Patton), who had been fired after only one case with the SVU team. When Cassidy's lawyer questions him, he is forced to reveal that he had a romantic relationship with the sister of a drug lord he was investigating undercover. The second officer, however, is released after the jury deadlocks. A member of the DA's office for over 25 years, she has a black-and-white view of the law, and makes sure all procedures are handled "by the book." third season episode "Justice" and appearing in his own show, Chicago Justice, Stone, the son of the late Executive ADA Ben Stone (Michael Moriarty) has spent most of his adult life in Chicago, primarily as prosecutor with the State's Attorney's office in Cook County. After appearing in only 14 episodes, Greylek was written out of the series in the episode "Lead"; in the middle of a trial where pediatrician Gilbert Keppler (Lawrence Arancio) is found guilty of molesting four of his male patients. Plus, fun fact: Playing Rita Calhoun is not the first or even second time that Elizabeth Marvel has appeared on Law & Order! When Hunter says during his arraignment that Stabler molested him after handcuffing him, West's case is in jeopardized, since there was also no actual victim. The season 17 episode "Intersecting Lives" reveals that Carisi has passed the exam; however, in the season finale "Heartfelt Passages," he decides to postpone his plans to become an assistant district attorney for the time being. Make room in the bullpen: There's a new Law & Order: SVU detective on the case. Upon reading the folder Tutuola gives her, she realizes he is there to take her job. A court officer pulled . Only a few months into his tenure, he is offered a position with the Joint Terrorism Task Force by his father but decides to stay with SVU, boldly going against the Deputy Chief's wishes (the elder Dodds had meant for his son's time at SVU to be nothing more than a career step). Since being promoted to Sergeant at the beginning of season 9, Munch has taken more of a leadership role and does less investigating in the field, partially due to the fact that Tutuola was partnered with Detective Lake in season 9. As a recurring character until 2017, he was focused on bringing . In "True Believers", he defends a black man who is on trial for attacking a girl in her apartment, and cites poor police procedure and the victim's creditably to get a not guilty verdict. After its determined that Dodds is brain dead, he is taken off life support and dies. In the season 23 premiere, And the Empire Strikes Back, it is revealed that he and Rollins are dating. In the season 8 premiere "Informed", she shows up in New York again when Detective Benson is hounding her eco-terrorism informant to tell her about her rape. She is taken to a hospital and, while there, goes into cardiac arrest, eventually dying from a ruptured spleen incurred from the bombing.[64]. In this episode, Barba disconnects a severely handicapped baby's life support in a mercy killing and is charged with murder. Unlike his predecessor, Dr. Elizabeth Olivet, little has been revealed about Skoda's personal life. "The only offense that the defendant could be charged with federally is the stealing of the car in New Jersey and then using it in New York. In the following episode, "Father's Shadow", Haden offers to take Benson to dinner, but she respectfully declines, saying she is still on duty and joking there would be a possible conflict of interest. West first appears in the second episode, where she is the prosecutor on a case where a pedophile is kidnapping and raping young girls. Benson saves him by shooting Cole in the back of the head, killing him. In the later episode "The Burden of Our Choices", she transfers to Benson's squad as a detective-in-training and is placed under the supervision of Fin and Rollins. Carisi is injured, and Jules is killed. ADA Barba goes head to head with the Suffolk County District Attorney, Pam James (Jane Kaczmarek), in the episode "Beautiful Frame", after a Manhattan rape victim is charged with murder of her ex-boyfriend in Suffolk County. Ned Eisenberg, a prolific film, TV and stage actor, has died from cancer at 65 . In season 13, Executive ADA Michael Cutter (Linus Roache) is transferred from homicide to take over Donnelly's former role as supervisor. She was beaten up by a pimp in the season 8 episode "Underbelly", after trying to help one of his girls.