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. 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. Later in the episode, Benson and Stabler discover the doctor murdered in his home. The first Super Bowl matchup of former league MVPs came in the 1976 season when Oaklandâs Ken Stabler (1974 winner) beat Minnesotaâs Fran Tarkenton (1975 winner). 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. 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. She is a Brooklyn ADA who transfers to Manhattan SVU due to her great admiration for detectives Benson and Stabler. In the season 11 finale "Shattered", she is held hostage in her own morgue with Detective Benson and ADA Marlowe and is shot by the woman holding them hostage. Esparza was added to the opening credits in season 15, making Barba the squad's fourth full-time ADA. Amaro is called to the stand by ADA Derek Strauss and he is asked questions about his undercover work. Benson and Cassidy also are forced to reveal their romantic relationship in this episode when Amaro and Munch go to Cassidy's apartment and find Benson there. Throughout the first few episodes of season 13, she struggles to cope with the retirement of Stabler as she is more harsh and argumentative, as seen when she berates ADA Novak for "losing her nerve" after Novak said that Benson was "off". 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. It is revealed Porter knew who the killer was all along as the victim's roommate Terri Baines (Paola Mendoza) was working with the FBI as undercover intelligence agent. 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. As of "Intersecting Lives", Ken and Alejandro are expecting a child, having found a surrogate; to Ken's surprise and relief, Fin is excited about becoming a grandfather. Elliot Stabler was a senior detective in Manhattan's 16th Precinct, also known as the Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes. They are able to prove Lake killed the other cop in self defense after he was shot at himself by a second NYPD officer with a history of brutality. Carisi takes the stand in Ethan's trial and admits what Mia told him. His stint begins to a rocky start, particularly with initial tension with the rest of the members of the SVU team due to Barba's sudden departure. She says that her father was an M-60 Door Gunner on a Huey during the Vietnam War. He separates from his wife Kathy during seasons 7 and 8, but they reconcile after she becomes pregnant with their fifth child. In the episode, "Undercover Blue", Cassidy is accused of rape by a prostitute while he was undercover almost four years prior. Working in the Appeals bureau, she was the first to get a Capital Conviction in New York when the then newly elected Governor George Pataki brought back the death penalty in 1995. Both Cabot and Novak were previously supervised by Bureau Chief ADA Elizabeth Donnelly, before she was elevated to judgeship in season 7. [27][28] In "Twenty-Five Acts", Amaro seeks temporary SVU commanding officer, Captain Harris (Adam Baldwin), to let Amaro work their rape case solo, telling Benson that she needed a partner she could trust, Benson working the case with Rollins.[29]. [63] In the 2009 episode "Hammered" Moredock presides over the case of a heavy drinker accused of killing a woman during an alcoholic blackout. 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. As the series progresses, he becomes closer with Munch and even saves Benson from being raped while they were both undercover in season 9. Donnelly is elevated to judge in season 7. In the episode "Lost Traveller", ADA Cabot is forced to call on Cutter after defense attorney Marvin Exley (Ron Rifkin) tells her to "call her boss" to work out a deal for his client. Rollins tries to prove to Benson and Amaro that the rapist originated in Atlanta and has come to New York for new prey, almost falling victim to him in an attempt to flush him out, since he took a preference to blonde and athletic women. 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. This later results in Barba being found not guilty, a result Stone ultimately approves with. Hargitay has received both a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Benson. She and Stabler get off to a rocky start, but they eventually form a solid partnership. But Greylek also has a softer side, as she warns Stabler to get a good defense attorney after his daughter Kathleen (Allison Siko), who has bipolar disorder, is charged with breaking and entering and theft, because the DA's office will prosecute her. Odafin "Fin" Tutuola is a sergeant in the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. Amaro is clearly rattled by this and goes as far as to threaten to shoot Detective Brian Cassidy if Cassidy did not tell him for whom he was working undercover. This episode calls attention to the difficulty Donnelly experiences as a woman working in the justice system. [35], Lahti again returned to SVU for two episodes, in the series' twelfth season. In the subsequent episode, Dodds leads SVU's continued investigation into a sex trafficking ring while continuing to consult Benson. A running joke has Carisi annoying Assistant District Attorney Rafael Barba (Raúl Esparza) with unsolicited advice on how to prosecute cases. [53] Within the series, it is said that Wong's character George Huang is on special assignment with the FBI back in Washington. Although Benson is at first wary of Haden, they are both surprised to find they work well together. As of the season 8 episode "Screwed", he is assigned Chester Lake as his new partner. When Benson goes to Ganzel's loft to speak with Cassidy again, they walk outside to what appears to be an attempted theft of Ganzel's car. Tucker was originally introduced as a Sergeant, but was later promoted to Lieutenant. 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. He returns to SVU in the episode, "Secrets Exhumed", in which he brings back a 1980s rape-homicide cold case for the squad to look into. As time has passed, Tutuola has again warmed to Stabler, a point proven in the season 11 episode "Solitary", when a suspect throws Stabler off a roof, Tutuola nearly throttles the suspect for attacking his "friend". In the fourth episode of season 13, "Double Strands", West appears back in the SVU precinct, but now as a defense attorney; it is revealed that the firm that hired her "offered her a better deal.". West then assumes the temporary ADA role for the final two episodes in season 12. While working undercover, she uses the name Star Morrison and speaks with a Southern accent (though the actress herself is not from the South). Greylek also seeks justice when a man is brutally beaten outside a strip club with the man's ex-wife and 13-year-old transgender daughter as the prime suspect. Masterson reprises the role in the seventh-season episode, "Ripped", where she helps Detective Stabler come to terms with unresolved issues in what Baer called "an emotionally devastating scene". A woman is murdered and her husband attacked, with their 6 year old son a witness to the attack. Stabler and Benson show up at the crime scene and Stabler is shocked to see his old partner and more surprised to know she now works for the DA's office. Paxton works in the Manhattan District Attorney's office under the authority of Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston; Law & Order), as an Executive Assistant District Attorney. William Lewis is a serial rapist and murderer who had gotten away with numerous counts of rape and murder because of mistakes in the system made by different police jurisdictions. The last thing Lewis tells Benson is that his death will be the last thing she will see before she dies. Munch filed his retirement papers after the events in the episode "American Tragedy", formally leaving in "Wonderland Story". She's coming to clean things up. Afterwards, he and his father mutually cut ties with Darius for his actions. Porter returned in season 11's "Spooked" to work a case with SVU where two people were killed, their killer leaving a rape tree. Ray Perkins, who spent nearly four decades as a college and N.F.L. "[34] Cragen's detectives do arrest the ringleader, while Cragen saves the young woman in the warehouse. [23] His wife, Maria Grazie Amaro (Laura Benanti), is doing overseas reporting in Iraq. Lake disappears while his fellow detectives investigate. The big tease was on today for Law & Order: SVU, as star Mariska Hargitay and former costar Chris Meloni provided more selfie evidence about his highly anticipated return to the series. Moredock recuses himself from the case, in which a rapist claims he was driven by pornography to sexually assault women. After Lake kills a suspect, Stabler accuses Tutuola of tipping him off before he is taken into custody and checks his phone records. Upon hearing this, Murphy lets her know that he is now here to stay, albeit temporarily; however, he gives Rollins a secret cell number, and tells her that should she need him, he would be on a plane within an hour.[30]. Cragen remarks to Marlowe, "You're the boss in court counselor, not here." In season 12, Paxton makes a surprise return to SVU and served as the Executive ADA in the ninth episode ("Gray") to prove to the DA that she hadn't lost her 'winning ways'. She replaces Mikka Von (Paula Patton), who had been fired after only one case with the SVU team. Somone breaks into a lawyer's home and attacks him and his wife. Lake suffers from insomnia and often takes walks at night when he cannot sleep. The characters of Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler were named for creator Dick Wolf's children. In the season 11 finale, "Shattered", Marlowe is taken hostage, along with Detective Benson and Dr. Warner, in the morgue by Sophie Gerard (Isabelle Huppert), the distraught mother of a dead boy. 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. Dr. Huang is an FBI forensic psychiatrist and criminal profiler, specializing in studying sexual predators and their victims. 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. His dedication to the job also makes him the target for several IAB investigations during the course of his 12-year career at SVU. ⦠Beginning in season 13, Tutuola's primary partner is Detective Rollins. He also used to compete as an amateur mixed martial artist under the name "Naptime", but had to quit after tearing his ACL. In season 17, he names his son, Mike (Andy Karl), Manhattan SVU's new sergeant, and is devastated by his death in a domestic violence dispute between a corrupt corrections officer (Brad Garrett) and his wife. As Benson returns to identify herself as police, the patrol officer shoots Cassidy twice. The supposed evidence of Amanda shooting Jeff in cold blood leads to Lt. Tucker arresting Amanda in Captain Cragen's office. Nicholas "Nick" Amaro is a NYPD detective who has transferred to the Special Victims Unit from Warrants and Narcotics. Pamela dies in her devastated brother’s arms. Extreme or powerful emotion or expression: the violence of their tirades. In the second episode "Sugar", she and Stabler get into a heated argument after Paxton calls the suspect's lawyer after he declines his right to counsel twice. After Lake's departure in the season 9 finale, Munch begins working with Tutuola again, while occasionally acting as squad commander when Cragen was unavailable. But when she finally takes the stand, she tells Barba that Bryant was not at the scene and instead says Barba and Benson put those words in her mouth. In the season 9 episode, "Harm", she uses her medical skills to diagnose past torture in a victim and takes the lead in making the case to prosecute the doctor responsible. Subsequently, in the episode "Undercover Mother", Murphy's undercover assignment is revealed after SVU takes down a sex trafficking ring. In "Manhattan Transfer", Dodds is made Acting Commander of SVU after Lt. Olivia Benson is relieved of her duties. In "In Loco Parentis", Carisi's niece Mia (Ryann Shane) says she was raped by a classmate, Ethan (Sam Vartholomeos), at a college party, but later admits it was consensual. It is revealed that in her final year of law school, Novak was engaged to a man, Charlie, who suffered from schizophrenia. In the episode "Remember Me, Too", Pamela is abducted by members of a criminal network Peter is prosecuting, who ultimately invade the psychiatric hospital and shoot her. He assisted the squad during their investigation into Atlanta PD Deputy Chief Charles Patton (Harry Hamlin), who was accused of assaulting one of his own detectives in a New York City hotel, by personally interviewing Patton in the interrogation room. After initial hesitation, she becomes particularly close to Stabler as they bond over being Catholic and a love of sports. At the end of the episode, after the real rapist has been caught and the wrongfully imprisoned man released, Cragen informs Benson that the District Attorney has decided to form a Conviction Integrity Unit to investigate past cases and ensure no one is wrongfully imprisoned. Three of the regular characters have appeared in other NBC series: Captain Donald Cragen (Florek), who was on the first three seasons of Law & Order; Sergeant John Munch (Belzer), who formerly appeared as a Baltimore detective on Homicide: Life on the Street and crossed over to episodes of Law & Order, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Arrested Development, The Beat, The X-Files, and the HBO series The Wire; and Alexandra Cabot (March) who was a lead character in the sole season of Conviction in which she had been promoted to bane Hallo Vanessa 11. Full title: New York City Police Department Crime Scene Unit Forensic Technician Officers, Barry Moredock, a judge, originally appeared as a defense attorney in the episode "Appearances", on a case in which a child pornography maker is put on trial for giving instructions on how to kill via a story on his company's website. She left SVU in the season 11 episode "Witness" to work for the International Criminal Court to seek justice for rape victims in the Congo. Lewis and Benson must find the informant after she goes missing and stop her from conducting a terrorist bombing. When the alleged rapist is killed, her friend is put on trial and Rollins' personal life is revealed on the stand. At the end of the episode, she returns to the SVU precinct and apologizes to the team, stating that she intends on making amends to each and every one of them. Hardwicke is mentioned in the episode "Reparations" as Tutuola says she is at a convention in Miami, before ADA Casey Novak returns as their temporary prosecutor. Entertainment Weekly reviewed Stone's performance as a "great presence", and having "had to revive her best ... tone to sell hokey lines" in a series it described as "mawkish and overwrought."[46]. [10] Amanda also was exposed as a heavy gambler in the episode "Home Invasions". It is unclear if the risk of suicide is altered. In her final episode, "Bombshell", Hardwicke attempts to convict twins Cassandra (Rose McGowan) and Doug (Ryan Hurst)—who are also in a sexual relationship—for their involvement in a man's brutal stabbing along with fraud crimes in New York and Miami.