History Characters / LawandOrderSpecialVictimsUnit

* [[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitCurrentMainCharacters Current Main Characters]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Capt. Olivia Benson, Sgt. Odafin "Fin" Tutuola, Det. Amanda Rollins, ADA Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr., Det. Katriona "Kat" Tamin, Deputy Chief Christian Garland[[/labelnote]]
* [[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitFormerMainCharacters Former Main Characters]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Capt. Donald Cragen, Sgt. John Munch, Det. Elliot Stabler, Det. Monique Jeffries, ADA Alexandra "Alex" Cabot, Dr. Melinda Warner, Dr. George Huang, ADA Casey Novak, Det. Chester Lake, ADA Kim Greylek, Det. Nick Amaro, ADA Rafael Barba, ADA Peter Stone[[/labelnote]]

[[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitMedicalAndForensicExperts Medical And Forensic Experts]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, Forensic Technician Burt Trevor, Forensic Technician Ryan O'Halloran, CSU Technician Dale Stuckey, TARU Technician Ruben Morales, Medical Examiner Taylor[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitMedicalAndForensicExperts Medical And Forensic Experts]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, Forensic Technician Burt Trevor, Forensic Technician Ryan O'Halloran, CSU Technician Dale Stuckey, TARU Technician Ruben Morales, Medical Examiner Taylor[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitMedicalExpertsAndForensicScienceUnit Medical Experts And Forensic Science Unit]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, Forensic Technician Burt Trevor, Forensic Technician Ryan O'Halloran, CSU Technician Dale Stuckey, TARU Technician Ruben Morales, Medical Examiner Taylor[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit Medical Experts And Forensic Science Unit]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, Forensic Technician Burt Trevor, Forensic Technician Ryan O'Halloran, CSU Technician Dale Stuckey, TARU Technician Ruben Morales, Medical Examiner Taylor[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit MedicalExpertsAndForensicScienceUnit]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, Forensic Technician Burt Trevor, Forensic Technician Ryan O'Halloran, CSU Technician Dale Stuckey, TARU Technician Ruben Morales, Medical Examiner Taylor[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitMedicalExpertsAndForensicScienceUnitMedicalExpertsandForensic ScienceUnit]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, Forensic Technician Burt Trevor, Forensic Technician Ryan O'Halloran, CSU Technician Dale Stuckey, TARU Technician Ruben Morales, Medical Examiner Taylor[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitMedicalExpertsAndForensicScienceUnit Medical Experts and Forensic Science Unit]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, Forensic Technician Burt Trevor, Forensic Technician Ryan O'Halloran, CSU Technician Dale Stuckey, TARU Technician Ruben Morales, Medical Examiner Taylor[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitJudicialSystem Judicial System]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Judge Lena Petrovsky, Judge Elizabeth Donnelly, Judge Barry Moredock, ADA Erica Alden, ADA Sonya Paxton, ADA Jo Marlowe, ADA Gillian Hardwicke, Roger Kressler, Trevor Langan, Carolyn Maddox, Donna Emmett, Oliver Gates, Lionel Granger, Rebecca Balthus, Nikki Staines, Simone Bryce, Matthew Braden, Miranda Pond, Patrice [=LaRue=], John Buchanan, Sherri West, Bayard Ellis, Barry Querns, Rita Calhoun, Minonna Efron[[/labelnote]]

* [[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitJudicialSystem]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Judge Lena Petrovsky, Judge Elizabeth Donnelly, Judge Barry Moredock, ADA Erica Alden, ADA Sonya Paxton, ADA Jo Marlowe, ADA Gillian Hardwicke, Roger Kressler, Trevor Langan, Carolyn Maddox, Donna Emmett, Oliver Gates, Lionel Granger, Rebecca Balthus, Nikki Staines, Simone Bryce, Matthew Braden, Miranda Pond, Patrice [=LaRue=], John Buchanan, Sherri West, Bayard Ellis, Barry Querns, Rita Calhoun, Minonna Efron[[/labelnote]]

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[[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitCurrentMainCharacters Current Main Characters]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Capt. Olivia Benson, Sgt. Odafin "Fin" Tutuola, Det. Amanda Rollins, ADA Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr., Det. Katriona "Kat" Tamin, Deputy Chief Christian Garland[[/labelnote]]
[[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitFormerMainCharacters Former Main Characters]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Capt. Donald Cragen, Sgt. John Munch, Det. Elliot Stabler, Det. Monique Jeffries, ADA Alexandra "Alex" Cabot, Dr. Melinda Warner, Dr. George Huang, ADA Casey Novak, Det. Chester Lake, ADA Kim Greylek, Det. Nick Amaro, ADA Rafael Barba, ADA Peter Stone[[/labelnote]]
[[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitPolice Police]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Capt. Ed Tucker, Capt. Steven Harris, Lt. Declan Murphy, Sgt. Michael "Mike" Dodds, Det. Brian Cassidy, Det. Danielle "Dani" Beck, Det. Nate Kendall, Det. Ashok Ramsey, Deputy Chief William Dodds, Det. Frank Bucci, Det. Robert "Doom" Dumas, Sgt. Kevin Donlan, Deputy Commissioner Hank Abraham, Det. Dave Duethorn, Det. Ray Lopez[[/labelnote]]
[[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitMedicalExpertsAndForensicScienceUnit Medical Experts and Forensic Science Unit]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Dr. Rebecca Hendrix, Forensic Technician Burt Trevor, Forensic Technician Ryan O'Halloran, CSU Technician Dale Stuckey, TARU Technician Ruben Morales, Medical Examiner Taylor[[/labelnote]]
[[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitJudicialSystem]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Judge Lena Petrovsky, Judge Elizabeth Donnelly, Judge Barry Moredock, ADA Erica Alden, ADA Sonya Paxton, ADA Jo Marlowe, ADA Gillian Hardwicke, Roger Kressler, Trevor Langan, Carolyn Maddox, Donna Emmett, Oliver Gates, Lionel Granger, Rebecca Balthus, Nikki Staines, Simone Bryce, Matthew Braden, Miranda Pond, Patrice [=LaRue=], John Buchanan, Sherri West, Bayard Ellis, Barry Querns, Rita Calhoun, Minonna Efron[[/labelnote]]
[[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitFederalGovernment Federal Government]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Agent Dana Lewis, Agent Dean Porter, Agent Jack Hammond[[/labelnote]]
[[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitFamilyMembers Family Members]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Serena Benson, Simon Marsden, Noah Porter-Benson, Sheila Porter, Kathy Stabler, Maureen Stabler, Kathleen Stabler, Dickie Stabler, Elizabeth Stabler, Elliot "Eli" Stabler Jr., Ken Randall, Teresa Randall, Darius Parker, Kim Rollins, Beth Anne Rollins, Jesse Rollins, Billie Rollins, Maria Grazie, Zara Amaro, Cesaria Amaro[[/labelnote]]
[[Characters/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnitOtherCharacters Other Characters]] [[labelnote:Click to expand.]]Sister Peg, Reverend Curtis, William Lewis, Dr. Greg Yates, Dr. Carl Rudnick, Bronwyn Freed Wilkins, Rob Miller, Bart Ganzel, Dr. Cap Jackson[[/labelnote]]

!!Main Characters

!!! Current

[[folder:Capt. Olivia Benson]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/benson_olivia_1931.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' | ''Series/LawAndOrder'' | ''Series/LawAndOrderTrialByJury''
!!!'''Other Appearances:''' ''Series/ChicagoPD'' | ''Series/ChicagoFire''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MariskaHargitay

A detective in the Manhattan Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes. She is primarily partnered with Elliot Stabler, until he retires. She is tough, empathetic, and completely dedicated to her job, to the point that she is seen as having no personal life. Her dedication sometimes wreaks havoc on her emotional state as she empathizes with victims of sexual assault, having been the child of rape. She has allowed her compassion for victims of abuse to sometimes cloud her professional judgment and impede her ability to remain impartial. Flaws aside, her strong convictions create circumstances for justice to be had in cases that otherwise might seem hopeless. As of the episode aired on January 15, 2014, she is in command of the SVU squad. She's also since climbed up the ranks to Captain (as of the Season 21 premiere).
----
* AbusiveParents: Her mother was one as a result of her alcoholism, physically and emotionally.
* ActionGirl: She's very competent in a fight. So much so that whenever she's forced to be a DamselInDistress, it's a huge deal.
* ActionMom: After adopting baby Noah.
* AesopAmnesia:
** In the pilot, Olivia allowed her emotions to impede her ability to effectively investigate a case, resulting in her getting chewed out by Cragen who reminded her that police "Don't get to the choose the victims," and that she had effectively used up her one strike with him.
*** Regardless, Olivia has repeatedly committed ethically questionable acts such as giving her brother money despite knowing that he was wanted for questioning in a rape investigation or illegally hacking a corporation's computer records to prove they were performing illegal chemical testing.
** Every time someone Olivia sent to jail turns out to have been innocent, she acts as if it has never happened before.
* AffectionateNickname:
** Her colleagues and close friends all call her "Liv".
** Carisi uniquely likes to shorten her titles to "Sarge" while she's a Sergeant and then "Lieu" when she's a Lieutenant.
* AlcoholicParent: Her mother was one. [[spoiler:Season 17 seems to have Olivia on the verge of becoming one herself.]]
* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: She's DaChief of Manhattan Special Victims Unit and has more ActionGirl chops than either Amanda or Kat (neither of whom are slouches), being that she tends to end up in one on one fights more often than them.
* BadassInDistress: When she gets captured in "Surrender Benson" as Lewis's SexSlave.
* BerserkButton: She despises people who are willing to defend rapists. However she doesn't get angry at those who do not know they are defending one but it's the matter someone has the gull to protect a sadistic criminal when they know they've done wrong.
* BigGood: In season 15, after Cragen's retirement places her in lead of the squad.
* BoobsOfSteel: Olivia's cup size grew quite noticeably following Mariska Hargitay's real life pregnancy between seasons 7 and 8. However having a more ample bosom has done little to slow down Benson's character when it comes to chasing after and subduing perps.
* BoundAndGagged: [[spoiler: Season 15 premiere, 'Surrender Benson'.]]
* BoyishShortHair: Sported a famously short, spiky hairdo during some of the earlier seasons.
* BrokenBird: It's pretty clear when her line of work is taking a toll on her mental state. Olivia has had a very fair share of being dragged through the mud over her long career and she regularly sees a therapist in later seasons.
* CareerVersusMan: In her own words, when men find out what she does for a living, they either "pull away or move in too close". When men ''are'' willing to stay with her something will happen to make them leave, either professionally or [[CharacterDeath accidentally]].
* CatchPhrase: Whenever discussing a case, if someone who's not her subordinate shows the slightest bit of skepticism, expect her to start a rebuttal with WithAllDueRespect.
* TheChainsOfCommanding: Rollins' relapsing into gambling habits puts Olivia in this position almost immediately after she becomes DaChief. With the very sudden pressure of being made leader of the squad, Olivia comes down very hard on Rollins and the situation is extremely uncomfortable.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: When the show started, she was the resident loose cannon on the squad, and on more than one occasion had to have Elliot step in and tell her to cool her jets. Over time however, Olivia's personality has settled into being one of the least liable to explode compared to her coworkers.
* ChildByRape:
** Her mom was raped, resulting in Benson's birth. [[spoiler: In later seasons, when Olivia begins connecting with her half-brother, it's implied that Olivia's mother may have lied about being raped in order to keep Olivia from contacting her father. It's ultimately confirmed that Benson's mother really was raped, it was just harder for Olivia to acknowledge once her father was a man with a name and a family instead of the faceless monster she always imagined.]]
** Benson's adopted son Noah was conceived when his biological mother was raped by the sex trafficker holding her hostage at the time.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: It's part of why she's a workaholic. She's compelled to try saving anyone and everyone who has been a victim in some way, whether they want it or not, and even if it starts to harm her in the process (mentally or physically).
* DaChief: After Cragen retires in season 15.
* DamnedByAFoolsPraise: In "Devastating Story" a [[StrawFeminist self-appointed victim's advocate]] tells Benson that she wasn't going to advise a victim to report her attack, but she changed her mind because of Benson's reputation. Later it turns out that the report was a lie. So apparently, Benson has a reputation for being the perfect cop to bring a false rape allegation to.
* DamselOutOfDistress: Olivia has ended up caught in hostage situations numerous times, but she knows how to handle the situations like a pro in order to keep herself (and other hostages) alive until help arrives. And she pretty much always dishes out hurt to the perpetrators too once the right opening occurs.
* DefectiveDetective: Only when it's convenient for the plot, though.
* {{Determinator}}: Olivia is extremely stubborn and doesn't back down easily from any of her convictions or opinions. When she gets on a case she will push as hard as she can to see it to the end and get the truth.
* TheDilbertPrinciple: Despite her many epic screw-ups (see KarmaHoudini and KnightTemplar below) she's been promoted three times in quick succession.
* DirtyHarriet: Went undercover three times, once as a prostitute ("Wildlife") and twice as a madam ("Hothouse", "Undercover Mother").
* DoubleStandard: Falls into this role on occasion in regards to TheUnfairSex.
** In one episode when investigating the alleged rape of a college student she's adamant that the suspect is guilty due to the victim having been drunk when they had sex, despite the fact that she initiated it and the suspect was just as intoxicated. She outright states "It's the man's responsibility to realize how drunk she is" apparently forgetting this would make the girl equally guilty.
** In another episode she finds out a woman suspected of killing her baby became pregnant while in an incestuous(but consensual) relationship with her own father. Olivia's opinion immediately does a 180 and she declares the girl a victim, wanting to charge him with rape despite their being no evidence the relationship wasn't consensual, and then demanding the father be charged with incest before being reminded they're BOTH guilty of incest and the girl would have to be charged too, causing her to promptly drop it.
** In a later season after hearing the story of how a young girl became pregnant, the DA is hesitant to file charges due to the girl maintaining the father is her boyfriend. Olivia immediately asserts that they have to charge him with rape since the girl is 13 before its pointed out statutory can't apply since the father is the same age.
* DudeMagnet: Throughout the series, Olivia has had numerous men flirt with her, becomes her temporary boyfriend, or have complimented her physical looks to someone else.
* TheDulcineaEffect: Whenever Benson screws up and an innocent person is hurt, she starts to feel guilty, which immediately results in everyone rushing to reassure her about what a great cop she is. Taken UpToEleven in "Justice Denied" when she finds out she coerced a confession from an innocent man and sent him to prison for a crime he didn't commit. The innocent man's lawyer reassured her that she was a good cop.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The pilot episode shows her and her mother having a healthy relationship, contrasting their established turbulent relationship in later seasons.
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Not just because of the LesYay with Alex; in several episodes, women blatantly hit on her. When girls who are watching just to perv on Stabler start making comments about her chest, you know this trope applies.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Olivia has sported short, long, and mid-length hair throughout the show's run.
* FairCop: She even provides the page image.
* FatalFlaw: Olivia and her belief all women are victims when it comes to dealing with men, given that she was a product of rape. [[CharacterDevelopment Thankfully she's gotten more nuanced about this over time]], and her conviction in victim's stories is now as much an asset as it is a potential flaw.
* FeelingTheirAge: A very recent development as the series enters its 20th anniversary milestone. Olivia experiences getting winded while in pursuit of a POI and is visibly shaken by the prospect that her physical fitness may not be as good as it once was.
--->'''Fin''': No one expects you to be Wonder Woman
--->'''Olivia''': I do!
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: To her brother, Simon. While she's a hardworking, competent detective who has relatively peaceful life, Simon has gotten in trouble with the law numerous time with Olivia, at one point, telling him he needs to grow up.
* GoodParents: To [[spoiler:her son, Noah.]]
* TheHero: Since Elliot's resignation, Olivia has become unquestionably framed as the main protagonist of the series.
* HopeSpringsEternal: Olivia pretty much lives by this. Her line of work is depressing, stressful, grim, and has not left her mental state unscathed. But when her therapist asks her why she doesn't quit, she declares it's because she still has hope for humanity.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Once got angry at Rollins for acting without thinking and always asking for forgiveness instead of permission, this from a woman who once kicked a suspect in the kidneys until he confessed while he was handcuffed to a table. Another time she insisted that a man who lied about his name to have sex with women was guilty of rape because they did not consent to having sex with the person they actually had sex with, yet she was nothing but supportive when her partner, Nick Amaro, learned that he conceived a child with a woman who only knew him as his undercover identity.
* ImportantHaircut: Following her kidnapping and near rape at the hands of William Lewis, she is seen crying and screaming as she hacks her hair short again with scissors at the end of the season 15 premiere. Incidentally, the length and hairstyle she settles on is quite similar to the one she had in the very first season of SVU.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: The way we see her dealing with her dysfunctional team at the end of "Jersey Breakdown." Olivia is shown emptying the last of a bottle of wine. Then she gets a call from her partner's ex-wife... and immediately after hanging up, hauls out a new bottle to crack it.
* InformedAttribute: She's frequently cited as being an extraordinary detective, and while some episodes do showcase this, more often she's displayed as a StrawFeminist or just an outright incompetent cop. She often refuses to consider the possibility that a suspect has been falsely accused, and overall spends more time focused on playing victim's advocate than on actual police work. She's also broken plenty of departmental rules and outright broken the law on several occasions(see KarmaHoudini below).
* InnocentlyInsensitive: In a [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness very early episode]], she referred to a trans woman as a "tranny," but otherwise showed no bigotry or judgement whatsoever. It'd now be ''severely'' OOC for Olivia to call someone that. However, this is likely a case of SocietyMarchesOn; it's now far more widely understood that "tranny" is a harmful and hurtful slur, so, naturally, Olivia would never use it.
* ItsAllAboutMe: In "Justice Denied" when she finds out that a man she sent to prison was innocent and the confession she got him to make was false, her first thoughts are not that she destroyed an innocent man's life, but that she can no longer take pride in knowing that she was better than detectives she had seen do such things. Throughout the rest of the episode she spends a split-second thinking about the subsequent victims of the real rapist, and the bulk of the episode worried about how the case would affect her relationship with her boyfriend.
* KarmaHoudini: In her police career she's been investigated by IAB multiple times, gave money to her half brother while she knew he was a fugitive, jeopardized cases by carrying on secret relationships with a reporter and a DA, brutalized suspects and her judgement gets called into question every other episode due to being unable to be objective. In real life she'd be lucky to still have a badge, let alone keep her position as detective. Here? She gets promoted to sergeant, then lieutenant (being placed in command of SVU), then captain, and is frequently praised as a good cop.
* KnightTemplar: All the innocent men she sent to prison for rapes they didn't commit, and by extension all the rapists who continued raping with impunity because someone else was in prison for their crimes, all the beaten suspects, all the ruined reputations, she's probably accumulated more victims than anyone she's ever arrested.
* LanternJawOfJustice: It's comparable to [[VideoGame/DragonAgeII Aveline's]]. It was really on display in the first few seasons when her hair was shorter.
* TheLancer: To Elliot Stabler, and graduates to TheHero when he leaves.
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: the sort of dynamic she develops with Barba over time.
--> '''Barba:''' What are you going to be doing when you're 85?
--> '''Olivia:''' Squabbling with you.
--> '''Barba:''' Wouldn't that be nice?
* MaleGaze: The camera loves to focus on her rather impressive hip-sway.
* MamaBear: Acts this way toward many victims. [[AMotherToHerMen And now everyone at the 16th]], now that she's the squad leader, and a more traditional one towards [[spoiler:her son, Noah. This especially applies when Noah contracts Measles as the result of unvaccinated children at the doctor's office. As a result, she goes after the parents.]]
* MeaningfulName: Olivia is heavily associated with harmony, befitting a law enforcer. Not only that, but she's usually the one who does her work more calmly and peacefully next to her hotheaded partners.
** More coincidence than anything but her nickname "Liv" sounds like the word "live", which works well considering that she's an abuse survivor whose life's work is advocating for other abuse survivors so that they can continue to ''live on'' past it.
* {{Megane}}: She's occasionally seen wearing a pair of reading glasses these days, and it's not a bad look for her at all.
* MistakenForGay: It's RunningGag throughout the series, presumably because she fits the stereotype: a tough girl in a leather jacket with BoyishShortHair. At one point, she uses this to her advantage when interrogating a lesbian-hating SerialRapist.
--> '''Olivia:''' Do you get a gay vibe from me?
--> '''Elliot:''' Would it matter if I did?
--> '''Olivia:''' You're not answering the question.
* AMotherToHerMen: After being promoted to squad leader she's become the one the whole team looks to, and she's grown into a role of giving advice and support to them if they need it, sometimes to the point of being [[MamaBear protective]]. Her squad-mates, in return, all develop loyalty to her.
* MsFanservice: Gets put in a lot of tight and low-cut tops, as well as in some pretty sexually charged situations in interrogation.
* MyBiologicalClockIsTicking: Mentioned by other characters in a few episodes, which never fails to piss her off.
* NatureVsNurture: Since Olivia is a ChildByRape, she gets incredibly defensive over the notion that her biological father being a rapist might have bearing on her own personal nature. While she maintains it's ridiculous, she also at times seeks reassurance that it isn't the case. While overtime she has largely outgrown this, the topic still gets revisited every several seasons, [[spoiler: though more recently the attention has been put on her adopted son Noah, who like her was fathered by a rapist]].
* NewMeat: At the very beginning of the series. Not so anymore after getting promoted to DaChief, and being the only remaining member of the original main cast.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Often makes things worse for the victims when she gets personally involved. Fandom at one point had a dark running gag about how anyone Olivia gave her card to was doomed.
* NotSoAboveItAll: Despite being the Blue Oni to Stabler's red, Olivia has on occasion shown herself to be just as overzealous in dealing with suspects. At least two episodes have dealt with individuals she put away that were actually innocent, [[spoiler: one of whom endures such physical and emotional trauma in prison that upon his release, he actually becomes a serial killer, targeting victims and witnesses Olivia had dealt with before tricking her into fatally shooting him.]]
* OhCrap: In the season 1 finale, after the psychiatrist asks her about the shooting she was involved with a few episodes earlier, Olivia looks like a deer in headlights briefly.
* OneOfTheBoys: Except when called upon to be TheChick by the plot. One early episode even had Olivia walk into the men's bathroom along with several other men to have a discussion over a case and no one bat an eye.
* ParentalSubstitute: Briefly, to Calvin, the young son of a drug addict. And then again in season 15, when she is awarded foster custody of Noah, a dead victim's infant son who had been kidnapped by pornographers earlier in the season; however this one becomes permanent [[spoiler: after she adopts Noah at the end of season 16]].
* PlatonicLifePartners: With Stabler, until his departure. They are partners and very good friends. The closeness of their relationship sometimes causes friction with their colleagues, but never threatens Stabler's relationship with his wife and four [[spoiler:(later five)]] children. Their relationship does occasionally cause some marital friction. Kathy sometimes finds it difficult to deal with the fact that Elliot confides in Liv instead of her. There are also the unfortunate times when Liv has to be the go-between (when Elliot is undercover and unreachable, for example) and Kathy clearly objects to being kept out of the loop of her own husband's life. Still, it doesn't come up nearly as often as you'd expect and Elliott and Liv really are just friends. Kathy does seem to have accepted the relationship after [[spoiler:she gets back together with Elliott]], at one point referring to Liv jokingly as Elliott's "work wife."
* PluckyGirl: Somehow manages to remain exceedingly positive despite[[spoiler: surviving multiple hostage situations and two near rapes]].
* {{Polyglot}} : Along with a bit of TheCastShowoff , as Mariska Hargitay speaks French, Spanish, Hungarian, and Italian.
* PowerHair: She's had this hairstyle during her run of the show, especially the earlier seasons, but the trope is actually subverted as her hair has grown out to be longer after she's moved into the role of DaChief.
* ProtectorBehindBars: Has got some moment before in three episodes: "Infiltrated;" "Undercover;" and "Perverted." Subverted in "Post-Mortem Blues," where she gets cleared of charges [[spoiler: via lying that she killed Lewis.]]
* QuicklyDemotedWoman: Played with. Olivia is knocked out of her newly-appointed commanding position as a precautionary measure when William Lewis, the serial rapist murderer who tortured her for three days, escapes from prison. She's reinstated as Commanding Officer when her replacement, Declan Murphy, is called to leave for undercover work.
* RageBreakingPoint: William Lewis triggers this, [[spoiler: goading her into beating him with a pipe after she endures being kidnapped and tortured by him for days]].
* RankUp: Gets promoted to Sergeant in season 15, to Lieutenant (with an appointment as the squad's permanent commander) in season 17, and to Captain in Season 21.
* RapeAsBackstory: Although as mentioned, it was her ''mother'' who was raped, resulting in her conception. [[spoiler: Though she goes through AttemptedRape twice, and Fin barely manages to help her the first time.]]
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: The reason she was PutOnABus for a short while in season 8 was because of Mariska Hargitay's pregnancy.
* RedOniBlueOni: Typically the Blue Oni in a team that's usually made up of multiple HotBlooded Red Oni at any given time. This can be reversed in certain circumstances however, if Olivia hits her temper threshold.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: In "Behave" she says her gut tells her that a man with an alibi is the rapist they're looking for. She does a background check and finds that the suspect is an upstanding citizen who is forty years old, has never been married, and has no children, to which Olivia says "What do you think, problems with women?" Of course the alibi was fake and the suspect was the rapist. But Olivia's gut is not magic and being single and childless at the age of forty is not evidence of a problem with the opposite sex.
* SecretKeeper: She and Elliot are the only ones who knew about Alex only FakingTheDead and being in WitnessProtection. They kept their silence until the act was forced to be dropped over a year later.
* SelfMadeOrphan: Averted, but Olivia mentions that she very nearly did this [[spoiler:in self-defense when her incredibly drunk mother had shattered a bottle and came at her with the jagged edge of the bottle, intent on killing her. She uses this story to get Novak to plea out a young woman who ACTUALLY killed her mother under the same circumstances, telling Novak that she "know[s] what it's like to want to" kill her mother as a result of the increasingly violent abuse.]]
* SexIsEvil: She's expressed some very judgmental attitudes about other people's sexual activity, even when it's consensual and legal. Sexual activity that she has arrested, expressed a desire to arrest, or harassed people for include (but are not limited to): drunk sex, lying to get sex, BDSM, sugar daddy arrangements, pornography, promiscuity ([[StrawFeminist when it's]] [[DoubleStandard a man]]), and AgeGapRomance.
* ShipperOnDeck: For Amaro and Rollins, apparently.
-->'''Benson:''' I wish those two would just get a room already.
* ShipTease: The various hookups and romantic relationships she's gone through onscreen notwithstanding, Olivia manages to have her moments with virtually ''everyone'' in her close inner circle within 10-20 years of her age, men and women alike.
* SingleWomanSeeksGoodMan: For all Olivia's CareerVersusMan issues, most of the men she's dated are pretty decent people.
* StrawFeminist: Depending on plot, she gets this way sometimes.
* StatuesqueStunner: Mariska is 5'8" and as a result Olivia comes close to matching, sometimes even surpassing, the height of many men in the series, especially when in heels.
* TeamMom: Even more so post-promotion to Sergeant.
* TranquilFury: Olivia tends to keep her voice even-toned when she's interrogating suspects, but she can still make it very clear when she's pissed.
* TraumaCongaLine: Olivia's life wasn't a cakewalk to begin with, but the show seems to have escalated the amount of emotionally stressful events she goes through ever since she became the central protagonist. Kicking off her rise to being TheHero to begin with was her partner of 12 years suddenly resigning without warning, and then in the span of the following 7 years she's been held hostage or otherwise captive at least four times with two incidents involving explicit torture and threatened rape. She's also lost two squad members to gunshot wounds with one leaving due to the injury and another ''dying'' from complications in the hospital while she was in range. Finally, after she adopts an infant son, he develops numerous health issues due to poor early environment, turns out to have a murderous biological father, and then gets kidnapped by [[spoiler: his biological grandmother]]. Someone give her a break!
* ToBeLawfulOrGood: Possibly one of the biggest things Olivia struggles with, especially after becoming Commanding Officer since she's put to a higher standard in following protocol. While she isn't afraid to utilize loopholes in certain circumstances, she often clams up in morally ambiguous situations that might go against her gut principles but are still technically lawful. In several occasions [[ByTheBookCop she's stuck to the law]] - with outcomes that are regrettable or nearly so.
* {{Tuckerization}}: Named after the series creator's daughter.
* UpThroughTheRanks: Olivia started climbing the ranks after over a decade of being a detective, being promoted to Sergeant in season 15, Lieutenant in season 17, and Captain in season 21. Touched off initially by the retirement of both Sgt. Munch and Capt. Cragen.
* [[UngratefulBastard Ungrateful Bitch]]: Angrily confronts Elliot and accuses him of betraying her trust when Elliot has a police detail placed outside her apartment. The reason? Because a dangerously unstable former suspect had targeted her for revenge.
* VitriolicBestBuds: She often bickers with Barba with regards to how to go forward with a case, and they sometimes clash on their personal ideals. Nonetheless, they work very well together and ultimately show each other support when the chips are down.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: She wants to get justice for rape victims. She is willing to violate whatever rule, law, or constitutional right she thinks she has to in order to get it done.
* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Olivia chains [[spoiler:William Lewis]] to a bedframe and in a fit of rage beats him to a bloody pulp beyond necessity after he taunts her. This act, despite being done after [[spoiler:she herself had been brutally tortured by the man for days]], haunts her deeply due to her long history of worrying if she [[NatureVsNurture inherited anything from her rapist father]].
* WillNotTellALie: After she lied on the stand during the William Lewis trial and it nearly ended disastrously, Olivia has, for better or worse, had a deep aversion towards lying within the context of law and policy.
* WithDueRespect: This is practically her catchphrase. Try to find a scene where she's arguing official policies and ''doesn't'' say this.
* {{Workaholic}}: Olivia works tirelessly and has to be forced to take time off. She even admits early on that she rarely goes home to her apartment. While she comes to value her free time more after [[spoiler: adopting Noah]], she still practically begs her therapist to greenlight her returning to work after she's given mandatory leave following a hostage situation.
* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: Particularly after becoming a senior member of the team, Olivia has repeatedly stepped in to give these kinds of pep talks to her co-workers, as well as various victims and witnesses whenever they are low on morale.
** Olivia herself has recieved these on occasion (particularly before she was the most senior member of the team) as she has a tendency to beat herself up when cases go wrong.
* YouAreInCommandNow: Following Cragen's retirement, Benson is forced to officially grab the precinct's leadership.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sgt. Odafin "Fin" Tutuola]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tutuola_odafin_9321.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' | ''Series/LawAndOrder''
!!!'''Other Appearances:''' ''Series/ChicagoPD''
!!!'''Played By:''' Music/IceT

A sergeant in the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. He was raised in Harlem and he served in the United States Army, where he saw combat in Mogadishu. A former undercover narcotics detective, Tutuola replaced Monique Jeffries after she left the squad in 2000. He transferred out of narcotics after his partner was shot. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, he ends up cutting off ties with this partner, and his crazy daughter goes on a such murderous rampage that they have to call in [[Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent Eames]] and the Anti-Terrorism Taskforce.]]
----
* ActionDad: To his estranged son, Ken.
* TheAtoner: A couple times, usually having to do with narcotics cases.
* BadassBeard: Goatee, but still counts.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Toward Rollins. When he finds out a bookie roughed her up over her gambling debts, he has the crook's place raided. He even punches him in the stomach, as he'd previously done to Rollins, telling him he knows what that was for.
* TheBigGuy: To John Munch's TheSmartGuy.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: Let's see, a gay son who resents him, [[spoiler:an ex-wife who was raped by her own father, producing a son who committed murder and got away scot free…]], and a brother in law who gets out of jail only to be falsely arrested on Christmas Eve… yep, definitely a nice family.
* BlackAndNerdy: Is an unapologetic gamer, which Benson teases him over.
-->'''Olivia''': So, all those years of gaming finally paid off?"
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: Sees all offenders as scum, [[ReformedButRejected reformed or not]].
* BlackRepublican: He is a registered republican.
* BreakoutCharacter: Was originally supposed to be a four episode character. However, because he was well received by fans, he was kept on the show for good.
* CatchPhrase: "That's messed up."
* ChivalrousPervert: Believe it or not. Though used for comedic effect, it's definitely not brought up often given the sensitive kinds of crimes on the show. Fin [[ImAManICantHelpIt doesn't try to cover up the fact that he's subject to a man's needs whenever it comes up]], but he doesn't allow that to blur the boundaries required to do his job and he's clearly very angered/annoyed when they come across particularly disturbing cases. One notable instance that this part of Fin's nature is really helpful is when Fin recognizes a young woman that held a position in a low-level public office from a porn he's watched (that's he's later shown in possession of), which allows the SVU detectives to follow a string of unlawful appointments that were coverups to the various flings of a mayoral candidate.
* DadTheVeteran: Father to Ken and served in the U.S. Army during the Somalia Civil War.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Handled a case on his own in "Anchor".
* DisappearedDad: Fin's undercover work in Narcotics often resulted in him being gone for weeks if months at a time, leaving Ken to essentially grow up without a father, which later caused significant tension between them. Eventually, the amount of Fin's undercover stretches brought he and his wife to divorce.
* FatalFlaw: He was not a good father or husband. It still haunts him, and it comes back to bite him several times.
* FireForgedFriends: He and Munch used to not get along. In later seasons, they were quite willing to go the extra mile to help each other out.
* AFriendInNeed: To Rollins, both when she's getting screwed over by her sister and when she later appears to be in over her head with [[TrappedByGamblingDebts gambling debts]], and Fin is the one Rollins calls for a ride when [[spoiler: she goes into labour in Season 17]]. Also to Olivia in subtle ways, pre-Season 12 - he's the only one that knows she's going to therapy post-"Undercover".
* GayBravado: Generally rolls with it whenever he's MistakenForGay alongside Munch or Lake. He also fusses at Amaro for not being dressed well enough when they go undercover in a gay club.
* GenreSavvy: "Intimidation Game" ''tries'' to make Fin out to be this, using his 20 years of gamer expertise to foil a kidnapping plot by deranged gamers, but it amounts to little else but him making lots of painful video game analogies.
** Back in season 3 "Care", the background funny moment may have actually been this when he and Munch play the same video game in order to try and enter the mindset of a murder witness with autism who was obsessed with it.
-->'''Munch''': Damn it!\\
'''Game''': You have lost.\\
'''Tutuola''': Pathetic. Give me that; let me show you how to do it.
* GoodIsNotSoft: Possibly the finest example out of all the characters.
* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Despite Fin and Ken mostly repairing their relationship, Ken is still hesitant to introduce his fiance Alejandro out of fear of Fin's reaction. Because of this, Fin doesn't get to meet Alejandro [[spoiler:before Alejandro is brutally beaten into a coma]], and deeply regrets it.
* HeelRealization: The episode "Strain" has him discover that his son Ken is gay, and Fin is initially exasperated about this development. After seeing the grief of another father who was [[IWishedYouWereDead estranged from his gay son]] and [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye lost him suddenly]], Fin realizes that justified or not, he was largely absent from Ken's childhood, and the distance between him and his son will only grow if he cannot accept him. The episode ends with Fin calling Ken.
* HiddenDepths: According to the official Twitter Account, Fin enjoys Shakespearean tragedies, his favorite being Cymbeline.
* HopelessWithTech:
-->'''Fin:''' ''(after watching a video of a Latino gang member bragging about raping a white girl)'' What, those fools think the cops don't know how to use the Internet?
-->'''Rollins:''' Well, it did take me a year to teach you how to.
* HotBlooded: Less so than Stabler and Amaro, but if he has to go after your ass instead of you going quietly, he's gonna be pretty pissed when he finally catches you.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Finn is the show's original BreakoutCharacter and the second most tenured character by mid-Season 15, but he doesn't make an appearance until the very end of the Season 2 premiere.
* IronicName: Tutuola is a Yoruba name meaning "The Gentle One". One need not watch Fin [[GoodIsNotNice in action for very long]] to see how non-descriptive that name is.
* TheLancer: As the main character with the second longest tenure on the show by Season 15, it makes sense. After his promotion to Sergeant, he gets transferred to another precinct but later gets himself moved back to SVU as Benson's second-in-command.
* MeaningfulName: Odafin means lawmaker or establisher of laws.
* MrExposition: In "Intimidation Game", he explains gaming terms to the audience through Benson, who doesn't play video games.
* NaiveNewcomer: An interesting example. Fin's definitely been around the block a few times, both before and after his run as a narc, but he's woefully out of his depth when it comes to sex crimes. The show gets a good deal of [[LetMeGetThisStraight exposition]] of it.
* NumberTwo: Becomes this when Olivia takes over the squad, with her referring to him as her second in command when asked and trying to convince him to take the Sergeant's exam. He's somewhat reluctant to take the position at first but eventually accepts it.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Rarely called Odafin.
* OnlySaneMan: He seems to be the only one who's aware of just how messed up everyone in SVU is. There actually came a point where he, [[AudienceSurrogate like many in the audience]], just wrote Stabler off as an out-of-control lunatic. He wasn't shy about it either, describing Stabler as "a head case" to both Cragen and to Stabler's face.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Fin was just ''that'' pissed off about the suspect targeting people [[ItsPersonal close to him]].
** He's usually not into roughing up suspects (that's more Stabler's thing), but during a case involving children being sold as slaves, the man behind the slave ring attempts to run. Fin chases him down and gives him a well deserved NoHoldsBarredBeatdown.
* OutOfCharacterMoment: That time he took a page out of [=UnStabler=]'s book and threatened to gouge an uncooperative suspect's eyes out with a spoon. He actually produced the spoon, too.
* OutOfFocus: Pre-season 12, very few episodes focused on him and even then they were more about his family's problems than Fin himself. Post Season 12, Fin's son Ken is nowhere to be seen, and Fin himself has only had a couple of episodes of any focus.
* PapaWolf: First appears in the seventh season episode "Strain", when Ken is under investigation. While Fin is more stable in his methods than Elliot, he could still give him a good run for his money. After some initial strain, he extended this to his future son-in-law.
* PerpetualFrowner: An entire episode has a victim pointing out this from the moment she meets him to the moment the episode concludes. He still doesn't smile.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Ice-T was billed as a guest star in his introduction but is immediately added to the opening credits the following episode.
* RankUp: Promoted to Sergeant in season 18
* RatedMForManly: Compared to his snarky partner Munch, but most especially so after Stabler leaves amongst the new personnel introduced to the series.
* RefusalOfTheCall: Despite being the second most tenured cast member by mid-Season 15, Fin refused to take the sergeants exam to make him Olivia's official second-in-command until Season 18.
* ScaryBlackMan: Averted. Despite being on a New York detective unit known for using more, uh, [[PoliceBrutality unorthodox]] tactics to wring confessions out of suspects, he's generally more calm and emotionally stable than most of his colleagues, especially in comparison to Stabler.
* SoProudOfYou: He feels this way towards Ken, telling Rollins that his son is the bravest man he knows.
* TheStoic: Is better at hiding his emotions than anyone else.
* SurvivorGuilt: In "Manhunt", it's revealed that his partner in Narcotics [[TakingTheBullet took a bullet]] from a drug lord meant for him. In "Poisoned Motive", we learn that he distanced himself from his former partner after the shooting because he couldn't deal with feeling responsible for the man's condition.
* TokenMinority: Lampshaded when he replaces Jeffries.
* WhenHeSmiles: Fin often scowls and is quite convincing as a tough, intimidating cop, but the occasional times when he has a genuinely happy smile, such as the ending to "Haunted", his face positively transforms.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Amanda Rollins]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rollins_amanda_6890.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Other Appearances:''' ''Series/ChicagoPD'' | ''Series/ChicagoFire''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/KelliGiddish

A detective from Atlanta, Georgia, who moves to New York City to join the Special Victims Unit. Rollins appears to be a detective who is very anxious to do her job, often being told not to get ahead of herself by Detectives Benson and Amaro, and Captain Cragen.
----
* AesopAmnesia: Rollins can't seem to stop herself from doing really risky investigative work without getting permission or at least notifying someone beforehand, no matter how many times it gets her and/or the team screwed over.
* ActionGirl: Just as much as Benson. Also, like Benson, graduates to ActionMom in the 17th season.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: Claims she's the [[OnlySaneMan only sane woman]] in her family and doesn't go home for Christmas (she does visit for Easter).
* BigSisterInstinct: Despite her younger sister being a mess, Rollins doesn't hesitate to protect her sister from bad men.
* BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord: Averted, as she [[spoiler:doesn't even bother with a euphemism when she blackmails Wilkes' wife into getting the charges against Amaro dropped.]]
* CainAndAbel: Her relationship with Kim is eventually revealed to be this.
* CatSmile: Rollins' slanted eyes only adds to her cat-like appearance everytime she grins.
* ChekhovsClassroom: One episode opens with the SVU team undergoing routine training. Rollins is established as an excellent shot, but also as having a blind spot about a female domestic violence victim who actually turns out to be aggressive. Later in the episode, [[spoiler:Rollins' [[ManipulativeBastard scheming]] younger sister Kim uses both of these traits as part of a BatmanGambit to get Rollins to kill her abusive boyfriend so that she (Kim) can collect an insurance payout on him.]]
* CoolBigSis: She's very protective of her [[ManChild younger sister Kim]], who takes advantage of this several times.
* CowboyCop: Dips into this at times. Rollins has a tendency to leap into action with her own ideas of what to do without permission... and it almost always ends up more harmful than helpful.
* DaddyIssues: Temporary Sergeant Murphy points out she's had "complicated" relationships with men, particularly if they're authority figures (see: her former sergeant who assaulted her and the Gamblers Anonymous sponsor who slept with her; this even extends to non-romantic relationships as she stuck up for Cragen after the dead hooker incident and is willing to give the benefit of a doubt a Creator/WoodyAllen (incest)[=/=]Creator/RomanPolanski (fled overseas)-type suspect).
-->'''Rollins''': My father was a gambler until mom nagged him out of the house.\\
'''Murphy''': Did you ever think she had a ''reason'' for doing that?
** This ends up being HilariousInHindsight when [[spoiler: she ends up getting pregnant by Murphy]]
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Her family of origin is a DysfunctionJunction, she's gotten in over her head with gambling debts, and she was sexually assaulted by a higher-up at her precinct in Atlanta.
* DeadpanSnarker: Mainly to Carisi when she's annoyed by him.
* DeepSouth: Hails from Georgia.
* DirtyHarriet: Inherited this role from Olivia, having gone undercover as a drunk party girl in an effort to lure out a DirtyCop rapist.
* DontYouDarePityMe: This is frequently her response to squadmates attempting to help her with her gambling or family issues.
* EasilyForgiven: A Downplayed example. Benson has no problem chewing her out for dragging her gambling debts into her work life, threatening to transfer her to another unit for her behaivior. It takes a while before Benson forgives Rollins, and is outright snide towards her before that, but the fact that Amanda is never fired or given any reprimand more serious than a tongue-lashing is overly generous on Benson's part.
** It's a similar situation when her gambling is first revealed, but in that case it's {{justified|Trope}} both because it didn't have an impact on her work the same way and because it's Cragen, who's had his own struggles with addiction and recognizes that his own superior officer's decision to help him rather than punish him was what got him to turn his life around.
* EtTuBrute: Gets an absolutely brutal knife in the back from [[spoiler:her younger sister]].
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: She's pretty popular with the guys in-universe, both inside and out of the squad room.
* FairCop: Dem cheekbones. Dose eyes. Dat Hair. Even ''Stephanie March'' felt threatened. Rollins has also caught the eye of several male characters.
* TheFarmerAndTheViper: Learns the very, very hard way that kindness is wasted on her sister.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Her sister Kim has substance abuse issues and an abusive boyfriend [[spoiler: who she set up to be shot by Amanda (she has a history of threatening him) for insurance money which she forged her sister's name to; she also knows about the gambling debts. When Amanda learns the whole truth and Amaro gets Kim on tape, she skips town along with all of her sister's possessions -- literally, the only things Amanda has left is her fridge, an ice tray, and Kim's goodbye note]].
* TheGamblingAddict: Her mounting gambling debts get her into a lot of trouble with some very dodgy people. She's been attending Gamblers Anonymous per Cragen's orders.
* HereditaryHairstyle: She and her sister got their blonde hair from their mother, a trait Amanda's daughter herself would inherit.
* HeroesLoveDogs: She has a pit bull named Frannie that has appeared and been mentioned in several episodes. Frannie even helped Amanda run down William Lewis after he flashed two tourists in Central Park.
* HoneyTrap: One of her specialties. She's volunteered herself as bait to catch more than one criminal and she's very good at it.
* [[HonoraryUncle Honorary Aunt]]: To Olivia's adopted son Noah, and specifically referred to this way in "Chasing Demons."
-->"Okay, so, Noah, Auntie Amanda is gonna take you to school, and Lucy is gonna pick you up."
* HumiliationConga: Between "Rapist Anonymous" and "Gambler's Fallacy," season 15 is this for her.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Doesn't make an appearance until the Season 13 premiere, but now holds place as the third longest serving member of the current main cast by Season 17.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: When the squad visits the shooting range for practice, she's the best shot of all of them.
* IronicName: Amanda means "having to be loved", "deserving to be loved" and "worthy of love", which are all poignant for a character who was awfully betrayed numerous times.
* JuniorCounterpart: Much like Liv during the series premiere, Rollins is the new transfer of the squad along with a male detective (Cassidy for Liv, Amaro for Rollns).
* KarmaHoudini: Deconstructed. ''So'' deconstructed. [[spoiler:Her gambling debts cause her to stumble into working for the owner of a sketchy gambling parlor, then rescued by an undercover cop working as the owner's enforcer, who gets her involved in the case. It backfires partially as the wife of an involved party gets raped, getting SVU involved and nearly blowing Rollins' cover; when the dust clears, the undercover cop commends Rollins for her work and tells her to stay clean, but a furious Benson, not happy with being put on the spot as a newbie squad commander (including lying to Amaro and Fin about what Rollins was up to), says that if SVU wasn't so understaffed, Rollins would be on her way to a new department.]] Borders on PyrrhicVictory, as a matter of fact.
* TheLadette: Compared to Olivia, especially after Olivia's personality mellowed out. While both women are "OneOfTheBoys" to an extent, Rollins is more overtly prone to profanity or recklessness, and has a number of stereotypically "masculine" hobbies and vices, especially gambling. She seems to have a habit of sleeping around, is occasionally seen smoking, and is also the closest thing the main team has to a resident computer geek.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: Arguably her relationship with Carisi, with Rollins's actress describing Carisi as like "her annoying younger brother." They bicker, but constantly have each other's back and Carisi is her daughter's godfather. [[spoiler:It's somewhat more complicated than that, though: Carisi has a thing for her.]]
* LoveMakesYouDumb: Poor Rollins had this publicly exposed in "Rapist Anonymous." Additionally, [[spoiler: the blackmail stunt she pulled to save Amaro from prison time has a strong chance of turning out this way]].
* MamaBear:
** {{Inverted}}. Kim recalls how she threatened to shoot a guy in the knees if he bothered their mother again when they were kids.
** While Rollins hasn't been given a moment yet, she did state that she would ''kill'' anyone that tried to harm Jesse.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: Has a heartbreaking moment of this when she realizes she's been manipulated by her sister [[spoiler:into killing a man.]]
* NewMeat: In season 13, along with Amaro.
* MsFanservice: Being the HoneyTrap expert, Rollins [[ExploitedTrope deliberately]] plays on this role to catch the perps.
* OffTheWagon: [[spoiler:She starts gambling again in "Rapist Anonymous", and it continues through to "Gambler's Fallacy", where it nearly gets her in serious trouble. She gets back on the wagon after that and appears to have stayed there since.]]
* OnceDoneNeverForgotten:: Her gambling addiction is this for Rollins, although somewhat deservedly as its consequences constantly pop up.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Seems to be ''inverted'' - sometimes, she'll slip ''into'' a southern drawl that she (and her actress) doesn't normally have. Note that her mother and sister ''do'' have southern accents so it's implied to be something that she trained herself out of but reverts to when she gets emotionally riled.
* OutOfCharacterMoment: Tried to provoke Amaro into hitting her in "Spousal Privilege", apparently because she wanted to [[BreakTheHaughty call him out on his pride at being better than the abusers while ignoring his own anger management issues]] (she saw him yelling at Maria over the phone on top of the suspect of the week being her weakness, an abusive authority figure). Amaro doesn't take the bait and leaves. She may have been drunk (this took place in a bar) and the next several episodes focus on their traumatic pasts.
* PregnantBadass: [[spoiler:Is revealed to be pregnant with Declan Murphy's child as of Season 17, not that this slows her down in her police work. Also a case of RealLifeWritesThePlot , as the actress was pregnant in real life.]]
* ProperlyParanoid: She is the first to seriously suspect William Lewis of being NotSoHarmless, even when the SVU squad doesn't officially have anything to hold him on. On the flip side, in "Dissonant Voices," Rollins [[spoiler:is the only person who suspects the allegations against the music teacher are false, and is unsympathetic to the other characters' MyGodWhatHaveIDone reaction when they realize she's right and they've ruined his life]].
* RapeAsBackstory: [[spoiler: She left Atlanta after being raped by her chief.]]
* ShipTease: Has had plenty of it with Fin. And with Amaro in season 15. In one episode, Benson opines that they should GetARoom and another character asks Amaro if he's the boyfriend (a single scene and a couple of references after the fact reveal that TheyDo, at least briefly). And then she gets some with Carisi in Season 17.
* SouthernFriedGenius: Rollins is the squad member most likely to be seen [[BuffySpeak doing computer stuff]] during investigations.
* TallPoppySyndrome: Kim regards her horrible treatment of Amanda as justified at least in part due to her seething resentment over Amanda having made something of herself.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: Of her dysfunctional family and their hometown in Georgia. Kim shamelessly uses accusations that Amanda now thinks she's "too good for them" to [[ManipulativeBastard manipulate]] her.
* TheyDo: [[spoiler: With Amaro, though probably not for very long.]]
* ThickerThanWater: She worries over her little sister's fate even after it's clear Kim has catapulted herself waaaaaay over the MoralEventHorizon.
* TrappedByGamblingDebts: Rollins initially gets out of the debts she owes due to the guy going to prison, but even after that she's haunted by them, most notably [[spoiler:when Kim uses her gambling problem as part of her FrameUp of Rollins, and then later in Season 15 when she falls OffTheWagon and gets sucked into Murphy's undercover operation as a result.]]
* ThatOneCase: A rapist she'd tracked along the eastern seaboard resurfaces in New York in one episode.
* TheUnfavorite: Her sister Kim is clearly the apple of their mother, Beth Anne, who supports Kim even when she's on the run. When Kim is arrested for drugging a john who then raped a woman under the influence and for shooting her pimp, Beth Anne actually blames ''Amanda'' for not helping her sister out and that she shouldn't return home until she "figures out how to be a real family."
* UpThroughTheRanks: Averted. While Rollins has been described as having an ambitious go-getter personality, she's explicitly stated she's not interested in climbing the rank ladder from where she currently stands.
* {{Workaholic}}: Really, ''really'' resents being placed on desk duty even when its within reason. When she gets pregnant, she dodges every order to take it easy until she ''faints'' and is forced into bedrest, obscenely close to giving birth. [[spoiler: And then she basically repeats this when she gets pregnant a second time, staying on active field duty long after she probably should despite everyone else's recommendation. Although thankfully this time she actually eventually admits when she needs to rest]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:A.D.A. Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, Jr.]]
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_9.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Other Appearances:''' ''Series/ChicagoPD''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/PeterScanavino

When Detective Nick Amaro is briefly reassigned to Queens, Carisi is transferred to the Manhattan Special Victims Unit on a temporary basis. He eventually becomes a permanent member of the squad. Boasting experience in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, he takes a while to grasp the complex sensitivity required for SVU cases, as he'd previously been involved with Homicide. He attends law classes at Fordham Law night school until season 17, when [[spoiler: he passes the bar exam]]. In the Season 21 premiere, he leaves the NYPD and joins the District Attorney's office, becoming the A.D.A. in charge of prosecuting the squad's cases.
----
* BerserkButton: As an A.D.A., watching the law he's sworn to uphold be perverted if not outright inapplicable to those with sufficient wealth and connections. To him, what's the point when said person can bribe even the judges?
** As a person with deep and sincere religious beliefs, other people, especially religious leaders, using religion to manipulate people or justify crimes. Goes double if the religion in question is Catholicism.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Sonny is ''pissed'' when he finds out his sister's fiance might've cheated on her. He later extends this ''to'' said fiance; though he is initially very skeptical of the guy's story of being raped by his parole officer, once he realizes it's true and convinces the squad to take the case, he's the man's fiercest advocate. He is absolutely livid that the rapist will likely get away due to the belief that a woman cannot rape a man, and even defends Tommy (the fiance) to his sister when she doesn't believe that he's innocent. Bonus points for the fact that he didn't much like or trust the guy prior to this.
* BrooklynRage: Can sometimes release some of these qualities as the guy has a heavy New York accent and a lot of backbone.
* BrutalHonesty: Often acts as a devil's advocate for the victims by presenting viewpoints like this.
* CatchPhrase: "Call me Sonny."
** Also "Am I right?" and "Am I right, counselor?"
* ConflictingLoyalty: His Season 21 StoryArc is him being caught in the middle between his new job as an ADA and his friendship with his former colleagues at SVU.
* ConsummateLiar: He's very good at undercover work.
* ADayInTheLimelight: "Parole Violations", in which his sister and her fiance have a prominent role.
* DevilsAdvocate: The rest of the squad is usually very quick to jump to conclusions, thus Carisi usually winds up playing this role. While he does bring up valid points and contributes to investigations, certain opinions don't earn him many friends.
-->'''Carisi''': Rape advocate. I don't even get what that is. I mean, there's no burglary advocate, there's no carjacking advocates...\\
'''Rollins''': When's the last time a carjacking victim got asked, "Are you sure you didn't want your car to get stolen?"
* {{Expy}}: Shares his cop-attending-law-school routine with Cyrus Lupo from the mothership ''Series/{{Law And Order}}''. Even his contentious relationship with the squad's ADA resembles Lupo's relationship with his own, Mike Cutter.
* FairCop: With Amaro gone, he's now the resident handsome cop in the squad.
* FanBoy:
** Of Walter Briggs from episode 16 of season 16.
** To a lesser extent he enjoys hanging out with Barba, whom he sees as a role model (much to Barba's annoyance and, eventually, grudging gratification).
** When legendary attorney Bayard Ellis asks the squad for help, Carisi is visibly in awe of him.
** Apparently he raves about Olivia to his sisters.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: It takes a while for the rest of the SVU team to fully warm to him. Rollins and Barba seem to find him particularly irritating at first.
-->'''Fin:''' ''(After arresting Carisi, who's working undercover)'' Want me to rough Carisi up? Make his cover look better?
* FriendToAllChildren: While not exactly highlighted, he's very good with children, including babies, and helps Rollins when she is initially struggling with [[spoiler: how to raise a child on her own]]. In "Patrimonial Burden", he is shown entertaining all the rape victim's siblings at the station, and they seem to like him, despite the situation. He's also very good with interviewing young children -- for instance, in "Collateral Damage". This is probably because he grew up with three younger sisters.
* HelloAttorney: He's a good-looking guy, and as of Season 17, he's passed the bar exam. As of Season 21, he's left the NYPD and become an A.D.A.
* HypercompetentSidekick: Everyone acts like they need to teach him how to do the job. Meanwhile, he graduated from law school, passed the bar, and is the only main character that has never resorted to any type of misconduct.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: He sometimes makes outdated or ignorant comments, and he's about as tactful as a brick to the head, but it all comes from genuine misunderstanding and ignorance -- never malice. One good example is when he openly admits he doesn't "get" being {{transgender}}, but once Rollins explains it to him, that's that. Even before then, he doesn't treat the trans victim any different than he would if she were cis.
* InsistentTerminology: "Call me Sonny." Nobody does, which Rollins [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] at one point:
-->'''Carisi:''' ''(meeting Cragen for the first time)'' Dominick Carisi. Call me Sonny.
-->'''Rollins:''' ''(offhandedly)'' Why? No one else has.
** His family seems to use the nickname, as seen in "Parole Violations".
* ItsPersonal: Two episodes ("Parole Violations", "In Loco Parentis") have involved members of his family as victims.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Carisi can be abrasive and initially had trouble dealing tactfully with victims, but he's basically a good person.
* LikeBrotherAndSister: Arguably with Rollins. See her entry.
* MinoredInAsskicking: Resigns as detective in his fifth year to be an A.D.A.
* MrExposition: He's all too eager to talk legal with the rest of the squad, ADA Barba, and even the defense attorneys. This comes in handy when shadowing Barba on a case in "Depravity Standard"; in court, he spots a "tell" from a witness that he tips Barba off to, and Barba uses it to break the witness on the stand.
* NewMeat: As of Season 16. By the end of season 17, he seems to have shaken this off.
* OnlySaneMan: A discussion between him and his sister indicates the he thinks his parents aren't the most supportive of people and that he's the only one out of his siblings that isn't prone to unstable relationships.
-->'''Bella''': I should've listened to Gina and Teresa the first time - they always said Tommy was no good -
-->'''Carisi''': Oh my GOD, I love our sisters, I really do. But they're crazy, okay! [[GoldDigger Teresa doesn't even talk to a guy that makes less than six figures]], and Gina, she's been engaged what like ''[[SerialSpouse ten times!]]''
** Eventually {{subverted|Trope}} though, since it's revealed that [[spoiler:Bella's husband is actually innocent and telling the truth.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: As noted above, Carisi is very much not prone to misconduct, so if he even ''approaches'' that line (which he's never truly crossed), you know it's serious.
* OutnumberedSibling: Sonny is the only son in a family of four children.
* ParentalSubstitute: To Rollins' daughter, Jesse.
* PornStache: Sports an impressive one in his first two episodes.
* RaisedCatholic: Comfortable referencing his faith in his job, and particularly brutal murders have him making the sign of the cross on scene. He's also clearly uncomfortable with the idea of abortion, but doesn't force that opinion on anyone, even his own sister.
* ShipTease: With Rollins, starting in season 17 after she has her child and he [[ParentalSubstitute steps up as a father figure]] in place of Declan, who's deep undercover in Eastern Europe. [[spoiler:It's eventually confirmed that he's in love with her in Season 19, when he ''almost'' admits it while drunk and is heartbroken when he finds out that Rollins hooked up with a guy the next morning.]]
* TokenReligiousTeammate: Like Stabler, and he's a lot more invested in crimes that are justified with religion. His faith is especially tested when the squad directly takes on a case involving the Catholic Church.
-->'''Carisi:''' [God's] here now, Father, and he sees you. So look up, and you tell him how truly sorry you are, and you ask for his forgiveness, and he will look into your heart, and he'll forgive you.
* VitriolicBestBuds: Appears to be becoming this with Barba. The latter is the first to seize an opportunity to mock Carisi ("Am I right, Counselor?" "Seldom."), but when Carisi needs it, Barba allows a more supportive side to shine through. Carisi also appears to count Barba as something of a legal inspiration.
-->'''Carisi:''' You've been pretty hard on me, but I want you to know that if I did pass [the bar], a lot of that's because of the time I spent working with you. I admire your...
-->'''Barba:''' Suicidal streak?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Katriona "Kat" Tamin]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/katorinatamin.PNG]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JamieGrayHyder

A fiery young cop of Lebanese descent originally from a rough neighbourhood, transferred from Vice into Special Victims after impressing Benson during a collaboration in catching a famous rapist and acting as Carisi's replacement.
----
* ActionGirl: Her first episode shows her willingness to get physical with perps.
* AloofDarkHairedGirl: She has little to no patience dealing with hard-ass suspects.
* AmbiguouslyBrown: Averted: whole she looks and plays the part of the SpicyLatina, she reveals that she's Lebanese.
* BoobsOfSteel: She's well-endowed and willing to get physical with perps.
* FairCop: She's a good-looking and youthful detective for the NYPD, joining the ranks of Rollins in that regard.
* NewMeat: As of Season 21. She has a lot of issues getting used to the CrapsackWorld of Special Victims, and the team has to teach her how to correctly get information from victims without being too brazen.
* StatuesqueStunner: A FairCop standing at 5'9.
* TokenMinority: She's the second Asian main character in the show's history since George Huang's departure in Season 12.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Deputy Chief Christian Garland]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/law_and_order_svu_garland_demore_barnes.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DemoreBarnes

* FrontlineGeneral: Garland is perfectly willing to go in the field, and in his first appearance goes undercover to catch a SerialRapist.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Was a RecurringCharacter in Season 21, but will be part of the main cast in the upcoming season 22.
[[/folder]]

!!!Former

[[folder:Capt. Donald Cragen]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cragen_donald_5338.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrder'' | ''Exiled: A Law & Order Movie'' | ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DannFlorek

TheCaptain of the Special Victims Unit. As SVU Commanding Officer, he is portrayed as a somewhat stern but understanding father figure to the detectives who work under him, often giving them a great deal of leniency because he trusts their ability to get results. Retires at the end of Season 15's Amaro's One-Eighty, giving command of the Squad to the newly promoted Sgt. Benson.
----
* TheAlcoholic: Recovering. He frequently mentions attending [=AA=] meetings.
* AndStarring: Until Dann Florek leaves the show in season 15.
* BadassDecay: In season 1 of classic Law & Order Cragen kept Max Greevy's MoralGuardian tendencies in line. Cragen made it clear that despite their personal friendship, he expected Greevy to put aside his feelings about the victim and the crime and carry out his duties professionally. When he became captain of SVU he never held Benson and Stabler to any such standards. In fact, he showed understanding in the face of their constant emotional outbursts to the point of being an ExtremeDoormat.
* BaldOfAwesome: Is completely bald and also SVU's levelheaded BigGood.
* BigGood: As the original [[IncrediblyLamePun head]] of the SVU unit, he is also highly moral and loyal.
* DaChief: Head of the SVU unit until season 15.
* AFatherToHisMen: Feels this way, and is regarded this way, as he admits in Season 14.
* HiddenDepths:
** One episode in one of the earlier seasons shows that while he's not an avid video gamer, he's actually a quite talented one, easily beating a game that neither Munch or Fin could get past the first level on.[[note]]They were playing the game to get insight into a adolescent suspect who was obsessed with it and had problems separating fantasy and reality. The climax of the game mirrored the crime scene exactly.[[/note]]
** A sadder example occurs in Season 14 when Cragen is forced to admit he solicited prostitutes out of loneliness and desperation for companionship.
* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities: He's been a captain since ''at least'' 1988. It might have something to do with his inability to keep the SVU detectives in line.
* MeaningfulName: Donald means "great chief, world mighty", as in ''DaChief'' of the tough world called Special Victim's Unit.
* MistakenForMurderer: Cragen's main arc in the Season 14 premiere is him being used as TheScapegoat by making it look like he murdered an escort.
* NotSoAboveItAll: When Munch and Fin play a video game to get into the headspace of an autistic witness to a foster sibling's murder, he teasingly calls them the "Mario Bros." Later, he's seen playing the same game and making it to the final level (which actually helps him talk with said witness later on).
* OffTheWagon: Was at one point. Now, he tries VERY hard to make sure he stays sober, though his job doesn't make it easy.
* PutOnABus: He retires at the end of "Amaro's One-Eighty" in Season 15.
* RecoveredAddict: Captain Cragen drank like a fish in his back story. His recovered status is repeatedly brought up. Mostly by Cragen himself.
* SharpDressedMan: Casual attire for him his a dress shirt and suspenders, at minimum.
* TeamDad: As opposed to active leadership of the detectives. Many of the characters actually do see him like a father figure. In "Russian Brides," as part of an undercover operation in which Cragen poses as a lonely, vulnerable older man, he admits to feeling this way about his people in turn.
* TrademarkFavouriteFood: He has a 5lb bucket of Red Vines on his desk. Also a case of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness, as they disappear after the first season.
* {{Transplant}}: From the [[Series/LawAndOrder original series]] to ''SVU''.
* TheVietnamVet: Captain Cragen was a Green Beret during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sgt. John Munch]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/munch_john_3602.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrder'' | ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' | ''Series/LawAndOrderTrialByJury''
!!!'''Other Appearances:''' ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' | ''Homicide: The Movie'' | ''Series/TheWire''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/RichardBelzer

A detective and now a Sergeant in the Manhattan Special Victims Unit. A conspiracy theorist and dedicated detective, Munch is first partnered with Brian Cassidy, whom he thinks of as a kind of younger brother, alternately poking fun at him and imparting (often questionable) advice on life and women. When Cassidy leaves the precinct in 2000, Munch is briefly partnered with Monique Jeffries, and then with Odafin Tutuola. He and the gruff, uncompromising Tutuola get off to a rough start, but gradually came to like and respect each other. As of the Season 15 episode "Wonderland Story", he has retired from the Special Victims Unit, although he has taken a role as an investigator for the DA's office, allowing him to have a recurring role.
----
* AgentMulder: Munch is the most likely to catch the phrase "that's nuts!" when suggesting a lead. To his credit, he's right most of the time. It's most notable on the occasions where a cop is the perp, as Munch will usually be the first to suggest that possibility. [[note]]Potentially an ironic trope, considering Munch met the actual Agent Mulder in an ''[[Series/TheXFiles X-Files]]'' crossover episode in TheNineties[[/note]]
* BigBrotherMentor: Serves this role to everyone at some point, though Cassidy especially saw him as one. Amaro also feels close to Munch and is the most devastated when he leaves.
* CartwrightCurse: Expect any woman he's got any remote romantic interest in to be unavailable by some means by the end of the episode.
* ConspiracyTheorist: An avid consumer and producer, with particular interest in the Kennedy Assassination and government cover-ups. Ironic as it is for a cop, it actually makes him a better detective. He's naturally suspicious and very difficult to fool, with an uncanny attention to detail, a lot quicker at connecting dots than the others, and the least susceptible to "The Thin Blue Line".
* DeadpanSnarker: Has a sarcastic comment for almost everything.
-->'''Teenager, as he's being arrested:''' I want my parents!
-->'''Munch:''' Yeah, and I want the troops home, the Kyoto Protocol signed, and a Tijuana oil job from Miss February.
* DirtyOldMan: Sometimes comes off as this, but most of his comments are harmless and in good fun. Other times, people just assume he's automatically this because of his line of work.
-->'''Teenager:''' Let go of me, you dirty old man!
-->'''Munch:''' [[ITakeOffenseToThatLastOne Who you calling 'old'?]]
* FriendToAllChildren: Though he won't actually admit to liking them, he is very good at working with young children, as well as very kind to them.
* HiddenDepths: He seemed quite happy to get into a public pillow fight in "Authority".
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: On the surface, he's a grizzled cynic with a sharp tongue. Underneath is a soft spot the size of Baltimore, especially where children are involved.
* KavorkaMan: And freaking how, although not nearly as showcased as in ''Homicide''.
** A case of [[RealLifeWritesThePlot real-world influence on the show]] as Richard Belzer is married to a former Playboy model.
* LongRunners: At the end of season 14, Richard Belzer will have played Munch for 20 years (and 21 seasons) as a regular on two different shows (along with [[TheCameo cameos]] and [[CrossOver crossover appearances]] on 8 others), tying him with (or putting him one year ahead of, if measuring by seasons) Kelsey Grammer as Frasier Crane (on ''Series/{{Cheers}}'' and ''Series/{{Frasier}}''), James Arness as Matt Dillon and Milburn Stone as Doc Adams (both on ''Series/{{Gunsmoke}}'') as American television's longest running live action character.
* NumberTwo: After passing the Sergents exam in the Season 9 premiere, he becomes Cragen's deputy until Munch's retirement in Season 15.
* OutOfFocus: In later seasons. Munch is often underused, Season 9 featured him in only about half of the episodes and overall Munch has missed 65 episodes of SVU compared to just three episodes of Homicide.
* PaperThinDisguise: Whenever Munch goes undercover, this usually ensues, and it's a rare instance of this trope being both PlayedForLaughs ''and'' weirdly effective. In one episode his undercover "disguise" as a pedophile involved no more than dressing slightly differently and ''smiling.'' In another case, his disguise consisted of dressing like a hobo and shouting conspiracy theories.
--> '''Fin''': That's the same old crap he says every day, only louder.
* PartingWordsRegret: Munch told his bipolar father that he hated his guts. They would be the last words he would tell his father before he killed himself. He considers this [[MyGreatestFailure His Greatest Failure]], and now suicide is a sore spot for him.
* PersonalHorror: Munch is sensitive to abused children, particularly girls, because as a teenager, he witnessed a neighbor throwing her daughter through a plate glass window, and after the girl's death, the mother only expressed concern about replacing the window. He is also sensitive to those with mental illness because his father had bipolar disorder, and his ex-wife Gwen has an unspecified paranoid condition.
* ProperlyParanoid: He's appeared in an X-Files crossover. With a world like that in the background, he has every right to be a little paranoid. Lampshaded in another episode when he plays the part of a deranged hobo spouting ConspiracyTheorist rhetoric to draw out youths assaulting the homeless: Fin says it's "the same stuff he says every day, only louder".
* PutOnABus: He's transferred to the Cold Case unit after "Manhattan Vigil". He comes back for a while, then he retires from the Special Victims Unit in Season 15's "Wonderland Story", although Belzer has stated he'd like to return in the future. Fortunately, Munch has become an investigator for the DA's office, leaving the door open for a recurring role.
* QuipToBlack: He and Elliot are tied for these.
* RankUp: To the shock of everyone on the squad, Munch secretly takes the sergeant's exam and is promoted despite his outspoken distaste for authority and the higher-ups in the NYPD. Munch insists that he only took the exam on a bar bet and that he never expected to score well enough to actually be promoted.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: In the few times he allows himself to get personally involved in the victims' lives, he's usually doing so because it's morally right rather than it being an extension of his job (and in "Parts", actually does something that would have cost him his job if any of the higher-ups found out). When Elliot asks him why he'd take such a risk:
--> '''Munch''': I have to be able to sleep at night.
* SerialSpouse: Subverted. None of his marriages ever last. He finally gave up after the fourth time.
--> '''Munch''': You gotta play to win.
* SmallNameBigEgo: Lowered as time goes by but in the early days, did think his lifelong conspiracy rants meant his FBI file was so huge, he'd need to carry it in a car. He got a dose of humility upon finding out his entire "file" was ''a single sheet of paper'' which noted that most of the radical community consider him a crank.
* SharpDressedMan: Almost always wears a suit.
* SunglassesAtNight: He wears shades at all times.
* TallDarkAndSnarky: Richard Belzer had dark brown hair in his youth and is the tallest main cast member to date at 6'1. Suffice to say, Munch's snarkiness is unparalleled.
* TheSmartGuy: Very, VERY smart. If the squad needs the cliff notes on a new subject, he'll have them in his head. If they need o know about literature or high culture he'll comply, and if they need to interview a witness or suspect in French or Yiddish he'll be able to do that too.
* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Sharply corrects Capt. Harris on his rank, which at that point is Sergeant.
* {{Transplant}}: From ''Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet'' to ''SVU''.
* WhatTheHellHero: Although he's fairly likable--[[GoodIsNotNice to a fault, anyway]]--he has had his moments over the years, such as [[NoSympathy casually]] talking about a former partner of his who committed suicide because he took the job too seriously and referring to coma patients ([[CrossesTheLineTwice one of whom was a]] ''[[CrossesTheLineTwice rape victim]]'') as "produce" and "a member of the drool squad".
* WriterOnBoard: An actor variant. Munch's conspiracy theories and admiration of John Kennedy come directly from his actor, Richard Belzer, who has written books on the subject. Belzer himself has gone on record saying that John Munch is basically "me as a cop".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Elliot Stabler]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/stabler_elliot_1237.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' | ''Series/LawAndOrder'' | ''Series/LawAndOrderTrialByJury'' | ''Law & Order: Organized Crime''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ChristopherMeloni

A senior detective in Manhattan's 16th Precinct, also known as the Special Victims Unit, which investigates sex crimes. He is one of the original members of the squad. A former Marine and a dedicated detective, he has a 97 percent closure rate, but his dedication can turn to obsession and cause him to take cases personally. His dedication to the job also makes him the target for several IAB investigations during the course of his 12-year career at SVU.
----
* AbusiveParents: His father was physically and emotionally abusive. His mother had untreated bipolar disorder, and although never intentionally caused harm to her son, inadvertently caused him physical injury and emotional distress during his episodes, particularly during points of mania.
* ActionDad: To five kids.
* AllCrimesAreEqual: When a group of teenagers threw a party with alcohol and a girl drank too much until she choked on her own vomit, Stabler went after the teenagers with the same zeal with which he goes after murderers, rapists, and pedophiles, and was outraged when the judge didn't throw the book at them. Stabler can be expected to lose his perspective (he has very little to begin with) whenever a victim is even remotely similar to his daughter.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Inverted. Stabler is overzealous, tempermental, and has no regard for constitutional rights. He is frequently temporarily partnered with cops who are even worse. Sometimes it seems as if Stabler learns his lesson from working with them, but it [[AesopAmnesia never sticks]].
* AntiHero: Though fundamentally good and wishing to protect the public and catch criminals, he bends the law to get it done, frequently brutalizes suspects, and is very bigoted and close-minded on sexuality issues.
* BadassInDistress: A couple of times; the most prominent being when Dale captures him and begins to torture him in 'Zebras'.
* BadassLongcoat: In winter episodes.
* BattleCouple: He and Olivia's TemporarySubstitute, Dani Beck, were a couple for a while.
* BlackAndWhiteMorality:
** Deconstructed in "Nocturne". He finds out that the victim (who was molested by his piano teacher) had molested a young boy himself at his piano teacher's insistence. He knows he's a victim, but he pretty much wants to kill him at this point (for [[IHaveAFamily obvious]] [[PapaWolf reasons]]). This wasn't always the case though, see below.
** A minor example is the fact that bipolar disorder runs in his side of the family. In the episode "Turmoil", he nearly strangles his son Dickie when he answers his question, "Have you lost your mind?", with, "I'm not the first Stabler to do so, am I?".
* BlackAndGreyMorality: In the first episode of the second season, after the season one finale reveals that he fantasizes about killing perpetrators, he talks to a shrink about it and the current case, where he admits to doing it again, but the suspect is a 16 year old kid who had spent half his life being raped by his foster dad, and was an honor student who also helped mentally handicapped children play soccer. This troubled Elliot deeply. Later, he also had a case where he spent most of the day trying to get a guy to admit he raped and killed a woman. He was in the middle of berating him for also stabbing women with pins, when Oliva comes in and tells Elliot that the suspect was molested by his mother for years. He then switches to comforting him.
* BrooklynRage: From New York and has a [[HotBlooded passionate drive]] and a [[HairTriggerTemper rabid temper.]]
* BrokenPedestal: Dick Finley, who he named his son after.
* TheBusCameBack: After his departure following the Season 12 finale, Elliot is slated to return in Season 22 as a SequelHook for his SpinOff show.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: It's strange to see him in earlier seasons actually spending time with his kids (reading bedtime stories, playing soccer with his daughter) considering his interaction ([[ParentalAbandonment or lack thereof]]) with them in later seasons. Or how he was the calming influence to Olivia's hotheadedness.
* CharacterTics: He has a tendency to squint slightly when troubled, or when he's lying, [[LampshadeHanging something his mother catches on to very quickly.]]
* ChickMagnet: Throughout the series, Stabler has been on hit on by numerous women: Civilians, suspects, criminals, etc.
* CowboyCop or RabidCop: Depending on the episode.
* DadTheVeteran: A former member of the USMC during the birth of his first two children. He had three more following his official retirement from service after UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar.
* DefectiveDetective: A combination of marital problems and an increasingly over-stressed psyche really start to crack him up. Being forced to put down a deranged victim forces him into retirement.
* DivorceIsTemporary: He and Kathy split during Seasons 6-8.
* TheDreaded: When Benson is in a room with her kidnapper and she got the drop on him she mentions that if her old partner was with her that he'd beat the shit out of him. Direct reference to Stabler.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: His actor was credited as "Chris Meloni" throughout Season 1.
* ExaltedTorturer: SVU doesn't endorse his third-degree tactics, but damned if they don't heavily rely on them. And Stabler gets way more latitude for it from the brass than he really should.
* FamilyMan: Elliot will do ANYTHING for his wife and children. To the point where he [[spoiler: nearly beats a man to death when he finds his younger daughter's picture on a pedophile group's child porn database.]]
* FamilyThemeNaming: With his children '''Eli'''zabeth and (obviously) Elliot, Jr.
* FatalFlaw: Elliot and his marital problems at home. Also his temper.
* FreudianExcuse: His personality is implied to be as a result of his [[AbusiveParents father's]] upbringing [[spoiler:as well as his [[MissingMom mother]] [[ParentalAbandonment abandoning both of them]].]]
* HairTriggerTemper: Against pedophiles. But has been known numerous times to hand out beatdowns to plenty of criminals and even fellow officers for being [[JerkAss Jerkasses.]] This major problem often gets him into trouble and [[UnstoppableRage he can't really control himself when he's in this state]] and ends up with the victim of his wrath in a [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown bloody pulp.]]
* HeroicBSOD:
** Seemed to be coming closer and closer towards one [[spoiler:after Kathy got fed up, left him and took the kids with her.]]
** [[spoiler:Suffers one at the end of the twelfth season, and retires by the time the next one starts.]]
* HotBlooded: Stabler is most known for this trope as he is more than likely to get into plenty of fights and can barely hold on to his emotions when he gets angry unlike other detectives.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Expresses frustration and disgust with the "don't snitch" attitude he encounters on the streets, but he calls Internal Affairs "the rat squad" and holds them in contempt, even though he has done plenty to warrant being investigated and he himself had investigated fellow officers. When Internal Affairs wanted SVU to investigate an abused dead girl who may or may not have been accidentally killed by police, he and Olivia said they had "some nerve" asking for a favor after all the times they had investigated the squad, clearly forgetting that investigating child abuse is supposed to be their job. The only positive thing Elliot ever said about his father was "My father was no rat." Apparently, Elliot thought his father's refusal to testify against a crew of corrupt cops was a good thing.
** In the episode ''Victims'', Elliot initially refuses to investigate the murder of paroled sex offenders. Regardless of what crimes they committed, the fact remains that the law is supposed to be blind in regards to murder. It wouldn't be so bad if not for the fact the show's ProtagonistCenteredMorality expects the audience to agree with Elliot's stance. (For some reason, it doesn't occur to him to point out that this doesn't fit the parameters of SVU or that it's a conflict of interest situation, either of which would probably be a stronger argument.)
* IHaveNoSon: Inverted. Elliot has mentally erased his childhood and parents to the point of breaking down crying in front of a therapist when he finally starts talking about an incident in which his father called him a failure, and he only goes to visit his mother when Kathleen [[spoiler:is in jail and needs proof that bipolar disorder runs in the family to get Kathleen treatment instead of jail time]].
* InsaneTrollLogic: Whenever he's interrogating someone and he runs out of questions he'll sarcastically say "You've got an answer for everything don't you?" or he'll turn to a third person and sarcastically say "The guy's got an answer for everything." It seems Stabler believes that having a satisfactory answer for all of a detective's questions is evidence that a person must be guilty of something.
* IronicName: He has a tendency to be both uncontrollable and unpredictable.
* JackBauerInterrogationTechnique: Is prone to tweaking suspects. Taken UpToEleven in the episode "Pandora", where he's working on apprehending a child pornographer in Prague. The US frowns upon roughing up suspects. [[IAmNotLeftHanded Prague is not in the US.]]
* KarmaHoudini: He has sent innocent people to prison, beaten confessions out of suspects, harassed and insulted people he knew were innocent because he just didn't like them, thrown childish temper tantrums in the squad room, and suffered zero consequences.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: You can't deny that a lot of the perps Stabler brutalizes have it coming. Considering their crimes it sometimes seems as if they get off easy.
* KnightTemplar: Some of the suspects he inflicted physical violence on turned out to be innocent. He also sent one innocent man to prison who, even after everyone realized he was innocent, has no way of ever getting out.
* LanternJawOfJustice: Courtesy of Christopher Meloni, who's got a chin to rival Jay Leno.
* LetMeAtHim: Stabler should probably be the ''TropeNamer''.
* MeaningfulName: Back in Season 1, Stabler was this because he was the level-headed one and Benson was the hot-headed one.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: At the end of an episode dealing with an abusive parent, Stabler said he had this moment after hitting one of his daughters as a toddler over some spilled juice. [[spoiler:At the end of the episode "Smoked", this was exactly the look on his face after shooting a girl who shot the men responsible for her mother's death, plus an innocent bystander, causing him to retire.]]
* NobleBigotWithABadge: He's somewhat closed-minded about sexual orientation and transgender issues, although not hateful about it. Possible result of a Catholic upbringing.
* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: His admitting that he occasionally fantasizes about killing perps is almost always brought up when his ability to competently do his job is brought up.
* PapaWolf: Bringing up his children in an argument is a surefire way to piss him off. Going after his family is a surefire way to get the snot beat out of you.
* ParentsAsPeople: Don't get us wrong - Stabler loves his kids. He is, however, far from a perfect parent, and he knows it.
* PlatonicLifePartners: With Olivia, until his departure. They are partners and very good friends. The closeness of their relationship sometimes causes friction with their colleagues, but never threatens Stabler's relationship with his wife and four [[spoiler:(later five)]] children. Their relationship does occasionally cause some marital friction. Kathy sometimes finds it difficult to deal with the fact that Elliot confides in Liv instead of her. There are also the unfortunate times when Liv has to be the go-between (when Elliot is undercover and unreachable, for example) and Kathy clearly objects to being kept out of the loop of her own husband's life. Still, it doesn't come up nearly as often as you'd expect and Elliott and Liv really are just friends. Kathy does seem to have accepted the relationship after [[spoiler:she gets back together with Elliott]], at one point referring to Liv jokingly as Elliott's "work wife."
* PutOnABus: Starting Season 13. Forced to shoot and kill a teenage girl to stop her from killing someone is pretty much enough for him to retire for nine years.
* QuipToBlack: Tied with Munch for these.
* RaisedCatholic: "I try to be a good Catholic, try to raise my kids to be good Catholics..." Lampshaded that he's not as good a Catholic as he'd like to be. When Olivia questions his BlackAndWhiteMorality going against Christian teachings of infinite patience and forgiveness, he casually replies, "Jesus was perfect, I'm not."
* RatedMForManly: Though in this case, [[MrFanservice it's more for the benefit of the viewing ladies.]]
* RedOniBlueOni: He is the Red to Benson's Blue.
* ReasonYouSuckSpeech: Gets a pretty scathing one from Fin after he dumps Fin's phone in "Cold":
-->'''Elliot''': Look, the situation got a little heated and I want to say I'm sorry about that.
-->'''Fin''': You're a bulldog, Stabler. Quick to assume, slow to admit when you're wrong. Makes for a good cop, but a lousy human being...
-->'''Olivia''': Fin, hear him out.
-->'''Fin''': Stay out of it, Liv. That being said, I know what it cost you.
-->'''Elliot''': Appreciate that.
-->'''Fin''': I'm not done. The problem is you will still be the same rat bastard tomorrow, and nothing you say will ever change that.
* SecretKeeper: He and Olivia are the only ones who knew about Alex only FakingTheDead and being in WitnessProtection. They kept their silence until the act was forced to be dropped over a year later.
* SemperFi: Served as a Marine during [[UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar Desert Storm]] and has a Marine Corps tattoo on his arm. One suspect even refers to him as a "Jarhead cop."
* SexWithTheEx: He and Kathy have occasional hookups during their separation. Their youngest child Eli was a product of one of these.
* StrictlyProfessionalRelationship: He always works with a woman, usually Benson. Once he was partnered with a man. It didn't go so well. He was briefly romantically involved with Dani Beck while separated from his wife. He took it fairly hard when she quit. It's also implied that he may have slept with Jo Marlowe when they were partnered together.
* TallDarkAndSnarky: Not quite as tall as Munch, but just as snarky.
* TemporaryBlindness: Goes blind for an episode in "[[MeaningfulName Blinded]]".
* {{Transplant}}: He is set to return as the lead star of ''Law & Order: Organized Crime''.
* {{Tuckerization}}: Named after the series creator's son.
* UltimateJobSecurity: Despite an entire career of ignoring warnings and orders given by Cragen, beating suspects, acting abrasive to detectives and attorneys he's assigned to work with, and using outright torture to extract confessions in investigations, Stabler is never fired. He only leaves the show when he chooses to resign.
* UsedToBeASweetKid: As his mother stated.
* WhatTheHellHero: Has been on the receiving end on quite a few of these.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Monique Jeffries]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/monique_jeffries.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MichelleHurd

A police detective with Manhattan's Special Victims Unit and was one of the initial detectives in the SVU squad.
----
* EightiesHair: She occasionally had her hair in a perm.
* TheBusCameBack: We later find she's been transferred to Vice and collaborates with SVU again in one episode.
* DarkSkinnedBlonde: Her hair is notably dyed.
* DatingCatwoman: Deconstructed. Sleeping with a former suspect got her kicked out of the department.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: For about half of Season 1 upon Cassidy's departure.
* PutOnABus: She leaves the unit after sleeping with a former suspect.
* StrawFeminist: Up until her PromotionToOpeningTitles, her only scenes were just to get her dandruff up anytime Munch said something. Even then she still would get pissy with Munch.
* TokenMinority: Until Fin joined the show.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:A.D.A Alexandra "Alex" Cabot]]
[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_l4juaslicg1qcthw0o1_400_8871.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Other Appearances:''' ''Series/{{Conviction}}''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/StephanieMarch

* AmoralAttorney: At times. She turns it UpToEleven in "Guilt" and gets suspended for a month. There have been exceptions, especially in recent appearances.
* AntiHero: Does some morally ambiguous things. Sometimes it goes to NominalHero levels where she's only interested in winning for the sake of her career regardless of the law or possible innocence.
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: Averted. In "Guilt", Alex takes a hard fall, cutting her forehead. It doesn't heal by the time the episode is over. As well, by the time she strong-arms her way into a woman's apartment to find evidence, she looks so harried and tired that she looks like a strung-out drug addict.
* BrokenBird: Although in this case, it happens during the series, not before it. Offscreen, she lost a case in 2012 in which she failed to prosecute a perp who then murdered his own wife in retaliation. This caused her to retire as an ADA. By her most recent appearance, she's not only revoked New York State Law, but she's actually rebelling against it; yelling out at how the law repeatedly fails the victims it can't protect.
* CameBackWrong: As of "Sunk Cost Fallacy", we see Alex assisting in a type of women's protection service bracket and she has become very embittered against the law and it's repeated failings on its ability to actually protect victims of domestic abuse.
* CommutingOnABus: Has been in the main cast in two separate timespans, as well as several guest appearances.
* ContraltoOfDanger: Has the second deepest voice of all the female main cast and is notoriously aggressive in prosecution.
* CrusadingLawyer: When it suits the plot. Most notably, she goes to Africa in Season 11 to work with the ICC. And then again in "Scorched Earth."
* DefrostingIceQueen: In her first run, she can be quite bitchy at times. Contrast post-WPP Alex, who is much friendlier and more helpful, as long as she's not in court.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Many viewers considered her to be "hair porn", especially in her more recent appearances.
* FriendToAllChildren: Rarely seen, but her interactions with young children (and one victim with Down's Syndrome) are a complete 180 from her normal personality. She even ''smiles''.
* HelloAttorney: [[http://www.buzzfeed.com/louispeitzman/the-law-order-prosecutor-hotness-rankings And according to this, she's the trope namer]]
* IconicSequelCharacter: She is the show's first prominent ADA and has held the position twice, but she didn't make an appearance until the Season 2 premiere.
* IdiotBall: The plot of "Guilt".
* InformedAttribute: Her legal prowess. She's indicated to be a top prosecutor(later becoming a unit chief) but frequently loses arguments before judges even when she's 100% in the right on the law. The usual formula is she lays out the evidence, the defence attorney calls it into question based usually on speculation or an argument that has no legal basis, Cabot says "this is ridiculous" or reiterates the heinous nature of the crime(rather than cite precedent or make a legitimate legal argument), the judge rules in the defences favor. In fact her many of her wins were a result of DeusExMachina or the defendant breaking down and confessing on the stand.
* JerkassHasAPoint: When Cabot is prosecuting a former football star for statutory rape on a teen prostitute, Olivia, who originally wanted all of the girl's Johns to be brought to justice, changes her mind when she feels that the defendant wasn't responsible due to suffering from early onset dementia and recruits Bayard Ellis to help him get acquitted. Cabot was understandably furious with her actions and pointed out that it was impossible to have both justice for the girl and compassion for the defendant. Looking back, this incident is a massive WhatTheHellHero for Olivia, as this stunt was odd for her character at the time, and, if done at present time, would have received massive fanbase backlash.
* KarmaHoudini: Munch even calls her "Teflon".
* KnightInSourArmor: SOMETHING had to have happened by "Sunk Cost Fallacy" because the attorney who previously sought to uphold the law and pursue justice...has changed heavily. She points out that the "To tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth." is, to paraphrase, a load of crap fed to people before trial to make them think the system gives a damn about what is or will happen to them. She still desires to do the right thing; even if it's vigilantism and against many of the laws set in place.
-->'''Alex:''' I opened my eyes. I opened them wide, and I saw that for twelve years I saw that I was a cog in a 'holier than thou' wheel and the wheel keeps spinning and tossing off bodies as it goes."
* LanternJawofJustice: Especially when viewed from the side.
* LimitedAdvancementOpportunities: She probably could have ''at least'' been a DA at this point, especially since she's already been a bureau chief. What's really bad about it is that she mentions several times in season two as having political aspirations.
* LethalChef: She acknowledges almost setting fire to her own stove.
* MeaningfulName: Alexandra means defender of men, which fits a lawyer like her.
* MsFanservice: Stephanie March is this on her own, but the glasses and the late season hairdo's certainly help. [[http://24.media.tumblr.com/929753c5289168b123a5250ea318a372/tumblr_mp6mxi3ayf1rox88ho1_250.gif See for yourself.]]
* NeverGotToSayGoodbye: Alex's mother died while she was in witness protection and she wasn't allowed to go to the funeral.
* OhCrap: She is at a loss for words when the EADA makes her the prosecuting attorney for the case of charging a 7-year-old with murder on live TV.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Alex is apparently the same age as Olivia according to a screenshot in "Ghost" showing her date of birth, but Stephanie March is a decade younger than Mariska Hargitay who plays Olivia (and inversely is older than her character).
* PluckyGirl: Especially in the beginning.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Stephanie March was billed as a guest star in her introduction but is immediately added to the opening credits the following episode.
* PutOnABus: To witness protection in "Loss". And again in Season 11 to become a CrusadingLawyer.
* RefugeInAudacity: In "Guilt": "So, I violated somebody's constitutional rights. I didn't violate ''the defendant's'' constitutional rights, so suck it up and admit my evidence." The judge reluctantly allows it through, though Alex does get a 30-day suspension for this and later has problems with other cases she presents before the judge in question.
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: "Hello, Uncle Bill..." In a later episode, Fin begs her to use a connection to stall, but she snarks that after working with [=SVU=], she doesn't have many favors left.
* SexySpectacles: Considered to be her trademark attractive trait among the fandom.
* ShesGotLegs: She was a master at showing off those beauties.
* [[HesBack She's Back]]: In "Lead".
* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: A highly intelligent and qualified attorney who also wears a very distinctive pair of black glasses.
* StatuesqueStunner: Her profile in the Season 6 episode "Ghost" lists her at an even 6 feet.[[note]]Her actress is actually only 5'9 1/8 but still fits the quota[[/note]]
* TheStoic: Needs to be this for the toughness of her profession, but she's NotSoStoic when she reappears in "Sunk Cost Fallacy".
* SugarAndIcePersonality: Much more sugar as of late, as she's learned to save the frigidness for situations when it's actually useful. Otherwise, do not fuck with her in court, or just seasons 2-4 in general. Because when it comes to ice, she's the queen.
* {{Transplant}}: From ''SVU'' to ''Series/{{Conviction}}'' and then back again.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Has become this in Season 19's "Sunk Cost Fallacy." The team believe an abusive and cheating husband killed his wife and daughter. But as they go over later evidence, they find they're still alive and missing. Benson discovers Cabot is now part of a group who specialize in helping abused women fake their deaths for new lives and isn't above framing the husbands for the "murder." She defends herself on it all and ranting about how the justice system has failed these women and only this way can help.
-->'''Benson''': What happened to you?
-->'''Cabot''': I opened my eyes.
* WhatTheHellHero: Occasionally gets speeches like this from judges on account of her, um, liberties with the law. During "Sunk Cost Fallacy", she berates Olivia for foolishly upholding the law in ignorance of misdeeds being committed through the law.
* WitnessProtection: Why the character left the series the first time.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Melinda Warner]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/warner_melinda_3374.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' | ''Series/LawAndOrderTrialByJury''
!!!'''Other Appearances:''' ''Series/ChicagoFire''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/TamaraTunie

The main medical examiner for the SVU, she has a snarky personality and varying levels of importance - she's the only cast member to have been promoted to opening titles and still regularly appear after leaving them.
----
* BlackAndNerdy: African-American and the SVU squad's go-to medical examiner.
* CombatMedic: She served in the U.S. Air Force during UsefulNotes/TheGulfWar to pay for her medical bills.
* CommutingOnABus: Of all the departed regulars, she's the one with the most frequent guest reappearances.
* TheCoroner: Her role, of course.
* DarkSkinnedBlonde: Her hair is notably dyed blonde in later appearances.
* ADayInTheLimelight: "Blast".
* DeadpanSnarker:
-->'''Stabler:''' ''(standing over a burnt corpse)'' What's on the menu for tonight?
-->'''Warner:''' Barbecue. A little too well-done.
* DemotedToExtra: In Season 13.
* HappilyMarried: One of the few recurrent SVU characters without much personal angst.
%%* HospitalHotie:
* IconicSequelCharacter: She's the definitive medical expert of the show, but she didn't make an appearance until Season 2.
* TheMedic: In general, but particularly noticeable in any episode that places the [=SVUs=] in a live situation.
* MinoredInAsskicking: She was a soldier before joining the SVU, and she's able to use a gun to good effect when she needs to.
* NervesOfSteel: In "Shattered", she was shot in the chest by a crazed suspect, and still kept her cool long enough to talk Olivia through performing an emergency medical procedure long enough to keep her alive. The woman has guts.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Was a RecurringCharacter in Seasons 2-6 before being upgraded to a series regular during Seasons 7-12.
* SassyBlackWoman: A less extroverted version than usual examples, but she is extremely tough, well-respected, and snarky.
* QuipToBlack: Often sets these up.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. George Huang]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/huang_george_2537.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BDWong

An FBI forensic psychiatrist and criminal profiler, specializing in studying sexual predators and their victims.
----
* AsianAndNerdy: Is Chinese and a doctor.
* BadassPacifist: This man has been in the room with many psychopaths, and more than one has tried to kill him. This has not stopped him from doing his job once.
* BadLiar: A variant. He is able to [[LyingToThePerp lie to the perp]] very well during interrogations. When he tries to lie to his friends and coworkers, however, he fails miserably. For example, his attempts to lie to Olivia in Users, right after he goes through her desk for information on their perp, could not have made it any more obvious that he was up to something.
* BerserkButton: Endangerment of the mentally ill; he has a rare loss of temper, leading to a public shouting match, when Stabler deliberately sends a paranoid-schizophrenic suspect into a violent psychotic breakdown in order to get information. Not only could this have hurt the suspect, it could have cost the both of them their jobs had Casey Novak not risked her own job to cover it up.
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Huang is one of the few authority figures outside of the squad that fully trusts and enjoys working with them, but even he can get impatient with the SVU detectives' tactics when it comes to handling suspects with mental disorders. He's ''pissed'' in "Coerced" in which he ends up starting a screaming match with Stabler in Cragen's office for pushing a suspect into a psychotic break, and then there's this exchange in another episode when SVU (with the help of a friendly US Attorney) prevents Huang from handing their case off to the feds.
--> '''Stabler''': How did Huang take the bad news?
--> '''Fin''': If I were you, I'd keep my distance. I didn't know he used that kind of language.
** As an FBI agent, Huang is also not afraid to drop '''federal''' charges on your ass when warranted.
* BreakThemByTalking: A rare heroic example as he is as likely (if not much more so) to do this for past abuse victims and/or children than SVU's criminals, which Benson and Stabler usually handle.
* TheBusCameBack: He returned 20 episodes into Season 13 in "Father Dearest", with a mention of working in Oklahoma. And again in Season 14. [[OnceASeason And yet again in 15.]]
** As of Season 17, he's retired from the FBI, but still works as a consultant for cases in New York. Unfortunately, this also means that his clinical opinions are now accessible to everyone and he no longer holds any defined loyalty to any department, including SVU.
* ButNotTooGay: He comes out in season 11 but never as much as mentions a ''past'' relationship.
* CaptainObvious: An interesting case in that sometimes the detectives need to ask him to make things a little simpler for them to follow which leads to this trope... and sometimes he invokes this deliberately because of the reason listed above. At times when they think his explanation is a little too simple, he shows that he's capable of a more complex explanation...
--> '''Huang''': She's dangerous.
--> '''Chief Muldrew''': Is that your clinical opinion, Dr. Huang?
--> '''Huang''': Do you want me to use bigger words?
* CharacterDevelopment: Goes from laidback psychiatrist from the FBI to a doctor willing to break laws for the sake of his morals. He's one of SVU's most trusted men outside the squad for his tenure as a main character, and even though he might not always agree with the detectives' methods, he does acknowledge that most of the time, they're trying to do the right thing. Didn't stop him from getting pissed when anyone went too far though.
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: In his first appearance, Huang sports glasses, a perv-stache and his interest in the criminal mind seems vaguely prurient. An episode later, he's glasses-less, clean-shaven, his hair is immaculate, and he's a sensitive and trusted confidant to Olivia.
* DeadpanSnarker: He is often subtly sarcastic to the detectives, at times to the attorneys as well:
--> '''Alex Cabot''': I need your advice.
--> '''Huang''': Lie down on [[FreudianCouch the couch]].
* {{Flanderization}}: In the early seasons, he wears standard suits, or, very occasionally, sweater vests. By season 11, the sweaters are almost all he wears.
* GoodIsNotDumb: Huang often takes the opposite position of the SVU with regards to victims and perpetrators, but the show demonstrates that he often has a good reason for doing so.
* HardHead: Played with: he took an absolutely ''brutal'' concussion from the perp in "Execution," but made a perfect recovery. However, it was mentioned that he was in the hospital at least overnight, and he was absent from the next episode, indicating that he might have taken a while to recover. Seemed to be entirely invoked in "Lead" when he was knocked backwards onto the edge of the table and had blood pooling under his head. He had to insist multiple times he was fine since he wasn't nauseous, dizzy, or had passed out (all signs of a concussion).
* HaveIMentionedIAmGay: In the episodes "Hardwired" and "Father Dearest". He mentions being gay, but always conveniently stays single.
* IconicSequelCharacter: He is the most prominent psychiatric expert of the show, but he didn't make an appearance until the penultimate episode of Season 2.
* IWantYouToMeetAnOldFriendOfMine: B.D. Wong's ''WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}}'' co-stars Creator/MingNaWen and Creator/JamesHong both guest star in the Season 6 episode "Debt".
* JurisdictionFriction: Huang's position as a psychiatrist and a member of the FBI occasionally puts him at odds with the rest of the team; on the other hand, he also readily uses FBI resources to help them. Seems to be just as much a personality conflict with Stabler as anything else.
* MrExposition: Sometimes reaching CaptainObvious status.
* NonActionGuy: Partially justified as he's not a cop. However, it's not entirely justified because he ''is'' an FBI agent.
* NotSoStoic: He does not appreciate homophobia or mistreatment of the mentally ill, most especially if one of the detectives (read:Stabler) ends up being responsible for the latter. The only times he's been seen getting more than mildly annoyed are when presented with one of the above.
* OnlySaneMan: Willing to point out that dating someone who looks prepubescent but is over the age of consent isn't illegal, among other things. He often seems frustrated with the detectives, especially Stabler, when they go over the line.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Two in season eleven. One where he is openly angry at a pedophile group comparing themselves to gay men, and another where he kidnaps a teenager and gives him an illegal drug to cure his heroin addiction.
* TheProfiler: Often called upon to play this role if needed. More commonly, he evaluates suspects after they've already been arrested.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Was a RecurringCharacter in Seasons 2-3 before being upgraded to a series regular during Seasons 4-12.
* PutOnABus: Beginning season 13 with no mention at all, unlike Stabler, whose departure was dealt with in several episodes. It is hinted that he might be working with the FBI full time again, and is confirmed during a reappearance in which he states the FBI reassigned him to Oklahoma.
* ReassignedToAntarctica: To Oklahoma. Reassigned sometime between the end of season 12 and the end of season 13. He is clearly miserable about having to return to Oklahoma at the end of Born Psychopath.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: In one episode, the detectives were faced with a man who ran a rehab clinic for teenagers, yet kept his patients hooked on heroin to get money from the parents. There was a drug that could instantly cure one patient, in particular, of his addiction, but it was illegal. Huang had the drug administered to him anyway, then turned himself in. He got thirty days suspension, but it was WorthIt.
* TheShrink: Incidentally, he can hop between all three subtypes depending on the episode.
* TheSmartGuy: Comes with his role as a forensic psychiatrist. He often explains obscure mental disorders to the detectives, is extremely knowledgeable about about theology, and [[SmartPeopleKnowLatin corrects a mistranslated Latin phrase.]]
* TheStoic: But when you do make him angry...
* StraightGay: [[AmbiguouslyGay Heavily hinted at for several years]] and then finally confirmed. Though he already all but spelled it out back in season 3, episode 18 "Guilt" when they were dealing with a teenage boy who had been sexually abused by a man.
--> '''Huang''': Victims his age are afraid that, because their abuser is male, they themselves might be gay. He might perceive my presence as an accusation.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Stabler, who will do whatever it takes to get his answers (including push a suspect into a psychotic break and offer phone calls for a convicted prisoner to the aforementioned prisoner's ''rape victim'') whereas Huang isn't, and it causes them to butt heads whenever they end up working together.
* TokenMinority: The only prominent Asian character. Counts as TwoferTokenMinority once his sexuality is revealed.
* WhatTheHellHero: As the OnlySaneMan that isn't tied directly to SVU, he gave these more than once to the detectives at SVU if they went over the line. Liv gives him one in Season 17's "Depravity Standard," when he ends up testifying that the defendant's confession could have been coerced by Liv of all people.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:A.D.A Casey Novak]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/novak_casey_846.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' | ''Series/LawAndOrder''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DianeNeal

* NinetiesHair: Her hairstyle in her first appearances were notably outdated for a decade.
* AmbiguouslyBi: Hinted at in her first few episodes. Casey is shown to be a very {{Tomboy}}ish individual, riding her bike to work, wearing hoodies in the office, and being awfully knowledgeable about fishing (fairly innocuous). Then it's revealed she plays softball (slightly less innocuous). And then, this exchange with a witness happened:
-->'''Ian''': James used to always talk about how happy he was that he was gay. He said guys are so much more fun.
-->'''Casey''': *laughs* Yeah, I agree with James.
* AntiHero: Frequently bends the rules in order to do the right thing- or at least what she thinks is the right thing.
* BeautyMark: One of the many benefits of being played by Diane Neal. It's on the left side of her face between her cheek and chin.
* BrokenBird: Specially because [[spoiler: her schizophrenic fiancé was drug-addicted and abusive, and after she finally kicked him out, he died in the streets.]]) There's also the episode in which she gets the crap beaten out of her by a man angry that she's prosecuting his sister's rapist.
* CommutingOnABus: After getting suspended in the Season 9 finale, she makes a guest appearance in Season 12 and then a few more in 13.
* ContraltoOfDanger: Has the deepest voice of all the female main cast.
* ContrastingReplacementCharacter: Casey is a [[PassionateSportsGirl sporty]] TomboyWithAGirlyStreak compared to the cultured and more feminine Alex.
* CriminalDoppelganger: Casey has one, as her actress played a VillainOfTheWeek in a Season 3 episode before she was RecastAsAregular two years later.
* CrusadingLawyer: Not even ''Donald Rumsfeld'' is safe from being subpeona'd by her. Gets particularly like this in cases involving mental illness. [[IdiotBall It doesn't end well for her.]]
* DeadpanSnarker: A little more comical and joking, with some of the best quips in the series (Diane Neal is a comedienne), but definitely hinting at SnarkKnight later on in her run.
* DomesticAbuse: Casey's schizophrenic ex-fiancee was abusive, [[BackstoryHorror and in rather graphic detail.]]
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: In season 7 and some of 8.
* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: Introduced with a NinetiesHair, Casey's hair has been longer or/and wavier since.
* FieryRedhead: Bonus points for NinetiesHair in season 5. Then it gets brought back in season 9, but HotterAndSexier.
* '''HelloAttorney''': DIANE NEAL. Even with the stupid hair in the beginning.
* HonorBeforeReason: The stunt that got her ''suspended'' had no chance of working. She knew it. She did it anyway.
** In "Poison", she goes after a misogynist judge that made clearly biased judgments and had many friends within the judicial community against the advice of another lawyer as well as [[HairTriggerTemper Elliot]] of all people.
--> '''Stabler''': Casey, it's not worth it. Look, what good does it do anybody for you to kill your career?
--> '''Novak''': If that is justice, I don't want it.
* IconicSequelCharacter: She is the show's second prominent ADA and is the longest-serving (both in the show and the franchise in general) to date, but she didn't make an appearance until Season 5.
* KaleidoscopeHair: She has been in several shades of blonde and red throughout her appearances.
* MeaningfulName: "Casey" means "brave", and she is fond of making risky decisions in her tenure on the show.
* MsFanservice: What results when a former model with a raspy voice plays a character that wears a lot of tight skirts. Especially in later seasons when the makeup department started layering on the eye shadow.
* MustHaveCaffeine:
-->'''Casey:''' Every second of every day.
* PassionateSportsGirl: Plays softball, and appears to be rather athletic in general.
* PluckyGirl: It really pisses the characters off at first, but they get used to it.
* PunnyName: A lawyer named ''Case''y.
* PutOnABus: Gets suspended in the Season 9 finale "Cold".
* RefugeInAudacity: She subpoenaed the Secretary of Defense. Arthur Branch was ''not'' amused.
* RetCon: Her disbarment, despite being stated ''on screen'' as such, was eventually declared a censure later on down the line, likely so she can have further appearances. In fairness, the information came from ADA Greylek, who could very easily have gotten wrong information or misunderstood, or for that matter made an assertion based on absolutely no evidence whatsoever (which would have been perfectly in character). Indeed Elizabeth Donnelly's exact words were "censure, possible suspension," never even mentioning disbarment.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: "If this is justice, then I don't want this career."
* [[HesBack She's Back]] In ''Reparations''.
* ShipTease: Had a bit with Chester Lake in his first appearance and in the Season 9 finale, though this immediately got [[ShipSinking sunk]] since [[spoiler: by the end of the episode, he's off to prison and she's suspended]].
* StatuesqueStunner: Diane Neal is 5' 10", and Casey has been called statuesque InUniverse a number of times.
* WhatTheHellHero: To the point where she eventually gets suspended for a few years.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Chester Lake]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/chesterlake.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/AdamBeach

Detective Chester Lake transferred to the Manhattan SVU from Brooklyn SVU at the end of the eighth season and was partnered with Detective Fin Tutuola. He is of Native American ancestry, specifically Mohawk, and speaks proudly of his ancestors, noting that many of them helped to build the city's skyscrapers and subway tunnels. He also used to compete as an amateur mixed martial artist under the name "Naptime", but had to quit after tearing his ACL. Lake suffers from insomnia and often takes walks at night when he cannot sleep.
----
* AmbiguousDisorder: Besides being an insomniac, Lake states on occasion that the city speaks to him. Whether or not he's speaking figuratively or literally is unclear, but thankfully, it hasn't had any effect on his job.
* AntiVillain: In his initial appearance, due to JurisdictionFriction with Fin. [[spoiler: Also in his last appearance, where he ends up on trial for murdering a crooked cop.]]
* BadassNative: Inverted. He is somewhat of a badass, and definitely Native American. But he is the farthest thing from the trope.
* BrooklynRage: Was transferred in from the SVU in Brooklyn. Fits the "Rage" part of the trope's equation in "Cold".
* ByTheBookCop: Especially in contrast to Fin.
* ChekhovsHobby: His habit of walking the city, familiarizing himself with it, later helps him identify a suspect's location based on background noises in a phone call.
* FireForgedFriends: With Fin. The two men do ''not'' get along when they're first paired together, but warm up to each other in the process of solving a series of rape-homicides that affect both their boroughs.
* FosterKid: He's been raised by multiple families.
* GayBravado: Plays along with the assumption that a mother makes that he and Fin are a gay couple with a giant smile on his face.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Typical for ''Law & Order'', but doubly unfortunate in that he spends most of his central season encountering cases like this [[spoiler:and ultimately takes a turn for the worse himself]].
* LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:Yes, he is a cop. Yes, he is mentally unstable. Yes, he is sent to prison, with a lot of people he sent to prison.]]
* MistakenNationality: From "Fight":
-->"Her pimp called me a Mexican."
* MrFanservice
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Was a two-episode guest star in Season 8 before being upgraded to a series regular in Season 9.
* PutOnABus: [[spoiler: To prison.]]
* RabidCop: In ''Cold''.
* RatedMForManly: He's cop whose a former UsefulNotes/{{Mixed Martial Art|s}}ist.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: An unfortunate case in that fans didn't warm up to the character because they thought Lake was written in to possibly replace Fin or Munch. Without approval of the fanbase, the writers wrote him out.
* RedBaron: During his MMA career, he's dubbed "Naptime" due to his mean right hook.
* ShipTease: Had a bit with Casey Novak in his first appearance and in the Season 9 finale, though this immediately got [[ShipSinking sunk]] since he's [[spoiler: off to prison at the end of the episode]].
* SixthRangerTraitor: [[spoiler:Not really a traitor, but Lake did commit a murder. Then again, [[AssholeVictim the victim wasn't exactly someone to cry over]]]].
* TallDarkAndHandsome
* TallDarkAndSnarky
* TokenMinority: Only Native American main character on the series.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Written off the show after one season.
* {{Workaholic}}: Oh, yes. He spends his downtime listening to the police scanner and attending meetings of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidocq_Society Vidocq Society]].
* WorkingClassHero: Comes from a long line of ironworkers, and takes great pride in the fact that his family practically built the city of New York. TruthInTelevision, as there was a sizable and famous population of Native American ironworkers in the city.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:A.D.A Kim Greylek]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kimgreylek.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Michaela [=McManus=]

* AllThereInTheManual: It's never brought up in the show (likely because she wasn't around long enough), but she moved to New York from D.C. after separating from her husband and feeling a desire to make more of a difference with her work. Although her working in D.C. is mentioned in "Trials" and "Smut."
* AloofDarkHairedGirl: She has the darkest hair of the first three ADAs, is tall like Alex and Casey, and is noticeably more aloof and blunt.
* AntiHeroSubstitute: She's notably more blunt and professional compared to both Alex and Casey.
* BrutalHonesty: She is unapologetic and blunt.
* CrusadingLawyer: In D.C. she was called "The Crusader" and she often brings up her opinions on civil rights issues like the death penalty.
* HelloAttorney: Unpopular as she was, no one denies that she was attractive.
* TheFashionista: Always dresses professionally, but her sense of fashion was much more pronounced than Alex and Casey's.
* FireForgedFriends: She wasn't too popular with the squad in her debut, but she did receive their trust later, enough to put her on FirstNameBasis with them.
* HiddenHeartOfGold: She means well, but unlike her predecessors, it takes ''a lot'' of effort from the other main characters to convince her to be more lenient.
* InformedAbility: Apparently she used to be called "The Crusader". We get very little evidence of this, and most of her moments of crusading are pushed aside so she can get justice for the victims.
* MeaningfulName: She leans more towards the grey area of the WhiteAndGreyMorality.
* PluckyGirl: It somewhat annoys the detectives, but that hardly slows her down.
* PutOnABus: In "Lead". She was called back to D.C.
* ShooOutTheNewGuy: After about 2/3 of a season, she gets PutOnABus in "Lead" [[note]]She appears only briefly in the episode's ColdOpen[[/note]] and replaced by Cabot.
* SlipknotPonytail: Her hair is always tied up, except for the episode ''Hothouse'', where she [[LettingHerHairDown let her hair down]].
* StatuesqueStunner: She's a good looking woman clocking at 5'9.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Only around for about two-thirds of a season, making her the shortest main cast member to date.
* WhatTheHellHero: Goaded a suspect into attacking her, just so she made sure she didn't get away with her alleged crime.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Nick Amaro]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/amaro_nick_2239.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Other Appearances:''' ''Series/ChicagoPD''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DannyPino

A NYPD detective who has transferred to the Special Victims Unit from Warrants and Narcotics. 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. After their rocky start, Amaro and Benson begin to have a mutual respect for each other and work well together.
----
* AbusiveParents: Growing up, he was physically abused by his father. Nick himself thankfully averts this.
* ActionDad: To six-year-old Zara and later nine-year-old Gilberto 'Gil'.
* AmazonChaser: When first introduced, his wife is in the Army and serving in Iraq. His affair with [[spoiler:fellow cop Rollins]] could fall under this as well.
* BeardOfSorrow: Any time Amaro's life is going badly, count on the five o'clock shadow showing up.
* BigBrotherInstinct: Has a tendency to "helpfully" get involved in other people's problems, Rollins' in particular.
* BreakTheHaughty: His heart's generally in the right place, but Amaro has a touch of the IneffectualLoner when he joins SVU, and is distinctly unafraid to challenge his squadmates on what he regards as poor police work. The episodes "Undercover Blue" and "Amaro's One-Eighty" sharply humble him on both counts. Combined with the failure of his marriage, by the end of season 15 he's pretty much in HeroicBSOD territory.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Non-stop, and with complete justification, when his dad shows up in season 16.
* TheCharmer: Can be this when dealing with difficult suspects or witnesses, to GuileHero levels. Perhaps most spectacularly when he [[spoiler:out-manipulates Rollins' ManipulativeBastard sister, and manages to talk a ''very'' hostile grand jury into not indicting him.]]
* ChekhovsSkill: Amaro's background in Narcotics, in which he did a lot of undercover work, frequently shows up in his approach at SVU. Namely, he's excellent at [[GuileHero pretending to play along and manipulating suspects and witnesses]], and also has a fondness for the use of HiddenWire.
* ChickMagnet: Many women have found him attractive and actively flirted to him.
* ConsummateLiar: Amaro is really, ''really'' good at LyingToThePerp. Such as the episode where he opens an interrogation with an absolute whopper of a lie, and then uses the lie to shamelessly manipulate the suspect's religious guilt, and then does ''that'' so successfully that the perp regards Amaro as a "brother in Christ" and spills everything.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: Initially, Amaro was this to Stabler, as he was more of a GuileHero compared to Stabler's violent tendencies. Unfortunately, within a few seasons his character had suffered the same {{Flanderization}} as Stabler.
* CrazyJealousGuy: Has an attack of this when he suspects his wife of infidelity.
* CruelToBeKind: In "October Surprise," Amaro gets in Barba's face with taunts of being a sellout who went away to Harvard and forgot where he came from. However, Amaro's purpose is to drive home to Barba exactly how his old friend Muñoz is manipulating him (especially given that Barba had just pulled an [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness uncharacteristically]] [[HonorBeforeReason risky]] stunt to help Muñoz).
* DaddyHadAGoodReasonForAbandoningYou: Amaro [[spoiler:discovered the existence of his son when he was sued for child support ten years after he'd broken it off with the mother.]]
* DisappearedDad: His father walked out when he was a kid. Unlike most examples, Amaro indicates he doesn't miss him at all due to the DomesticAbuse he inflicted on Amaro's mother, and even states they "threw a party" when he left.
** Amaro himself was this to his son Gil, although it's {{justified|Trope}} because he was never told the child existed. As soon as he found out, he made an effort to be in the boy's life.
* DivorceAssetsConflict: Maria takes a [[TookALevelInJerkass level in jerkass]] and pulls this on him [[spoiler:by taking their daughter to California.]]
* DomesticAbuse: Grew up in a household characterized by this. As he tells Benson, his father "liked to bounce [his] mom off the walls."
* DotingParent: Very clearly adores his daughter. [[spoiler: He wastes no time becoming this to his son once he finds out the kid exists.]]
* EntitledBastard: When he beats a suspect into a coma, the day after the suspect was acquitted, he never acknowledges his actions were wrong, he just wallows in self pity as he faces the consequences of his actions. After Rollins gets the criminal charges dropped (with a little police misconduct of her own), he acts indignant about getting demoted to patrol and constantly pesters Benson that it's taking her too long to get him his detective shield back. Then he feels sorry for himself when he learns that his actions mean he would never be eligible for a promotion. (This last part is partially justified by the fact that Benson was still promoted after she had, over the course of the series, technically accumulated an even longer list of questionable actions).
* FairCop: Lampshaded, as more than one character has remarked on his good looks.
* FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo: He's initially introduced [[spoiler:as an "uncle" to the boy who is really his son,]] and hates it.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: The Responsible to his sister Sonya's Foolish.
* {{Foil}}: To Rafael Barba. Both are Cuban-American Latino men who grew up with abusive fathers, but their personalities and the paths in life they took are quite different, which lead them to clash at times. Amaro is impatient with formalities and has a more explosive temper which leads him to try to take things into his own hands. Barba on the other hand has taken to the finer things in life, TranquilFury is more his brand of anger, and as a lawyer his preferred battleground is in Court.
* FriendToAllChildren: As the father to a little girl he's generally good with kids, but Amaro really exemplifies this trope in "Born Psychopath" when he [[spoiler:manages to talk down a [[EnfantTerrible psychopathic child on a killing spree]]. He successfully defuses the situation, but gets shot in the chest as a result of [[HonorBeforeReason his reluctance to use too much force]]. And then even after being shot, he ''shields the kid with his own body'' to prevent the police from shooting him because he can't countenance the killing of a child, even a sociopathic one. Amaro firmly stands by that decision even after Benson points out it's pure luck he wasn't shot in the head or some other part of the body not covered by his bulletproof vest]]. He also plays with [[spoiler: Benson's adopted son Noah and she notes that Noah seems to like Nick]].
* {{Gaslighting}}: His father attempts this in Padre Sandunguero; his mother and sister also express the view that Amaro is overdramatizing or remembering things wrong, albeit they are expressing their own massive denial about Amaro Sr.'s abuse.
* GoThroughMe: When vigilantes shoot at his house, Amaro ''immediately'' rushes to shield his daughter with his own body.
* GoodParents: One of his defining traits is that he's fiercely protective and loving towards Gil and Zara. It's their moving with their mothers to the West Coast (to San Diego and Los Angeles, respectively) that ultimately catalyzes him to follow them out and leave New York.
* GuileHero: Especially compared to his predecessor Stabler, Amaro usually prefers to quietly manipulate suspects into confessing and is excellent at pretending to take their side.
* HeCleansUpNicely: Invoked in his first episode when he arrives from Narcotics scruffy and bearded. Cragen orders him to wear a jacket and tie.
* HeadbuttingHeroes: He and Brian Cassidy despise each other. He and Barba have their moments as well, at least until they find some common ground later, at least partly due to them both being Latino. In a more general sense in most episodes, Nick is often the first to bring up other possibilities that the detectives may have been blind to initially, but won't argue when he knows the other detectives are too emotionally involved to listen.
* HoneyTrap: He's been the target of at least two, but wasn't stupid enough to fall for either. He's also acted as a honeytrap ''himself'', having flirted [[spoiler:Rollins' sister Kim]] into incriminating herself on tape.
* HonoraryUncle: To [[spoiler:Olivia's son, Noah. Even helped take care of him on a few occasions.]]
* HotBlooded: He can get very angry whenever something pisses him off enough. He can give Stabler a run for his money in this department.
* IAmNotMyFather: '''Hoo boy.''' Amaro's father is a gaslighting abuser. Amaro succeeds (mostly) in breaking this cycle where his own intimate relationships are concerned, although he struggles badly with anger issues.
* IconicSequelCharacter: One of the show's notable detectives but didn't make an appearance until the second episode of Season 13.
* JuniorCounterpart: To Finn, despite being Elliot's replacement. Like Finn, Amaro was introduced as a new transfer from the Narcotics Division who happens to be non-Caucasian male and was having a "shabby" appearance during said introduction. Both are also connected to the U.S. Army, though in Nick's case it's through his (eventual ex-) wife.
** Amaro also mentions at one point having worked military intelligence.
* KarmaHoudini: He threatened Cassidy at gunpoint, assaulted Murphy, and beat a man into coma after the man was acquitted. Ultimately, the only long-term consequence was that he found himself ineligible for promotion, and thanks to an on-the-job injury (from which he was expected to make a full recovery), he was able to retire on a three-quarter pension and start over in California.
* KnightTemplar: Crossed the line when he beat a man into a coma the day after the man was acquitted.
* TheLancer: To Olivia.
* LaserGuidedKarma: Gets in in two ways after he's arrested in the season 15 finale. [[spoiler:On the bad karma side, that time Amaro punched the crap out of an undercover Murphy? Comes back to bite him ''hard'', as now-CO Murphy refuses to waste any favors getting Amaro his old job back at SVU. On the good karma side, Rollins gets the charges against Amaro dropped, which is a nice callback to the episode in which Amaro saved Rollins from murder charges.]]
* LatinLover: Played with. Other characters sometimes ''react'' to him as if he's one, but in reality he's a pretty straightlaced family man.
* LongDistanceRelationship: One of the factors for his and Maria's separation is due to the stress of them not being there for each other all the time due to Nick's job and Maria being deployed in Iraq.
* ManipulativeBastard: On the other side of being TheCharmer, both Benson and his own wife have called Amaro out on trying to slip an interrogation into an otherwise innocuous conversation.
* MrFanservice: The show regularly provides scenes of Amaro working out, waking up [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]] in the middle of the night, having a shirtless AfterActionPatchUp, etc.
* MyGreatestFailure: Failing to understand his wife's PTSD after she returned from Iraq, leading to the failure of their marriage, or so he admits to Rollins.
* NeverMyFault: After Cassidy found out about his undercover affair, Amaro blamed Cassidy, not himself, for all the problems that came with it. He also never accepted responsibility for beating Simon Wilkes.
* NewMeat: In season 13, along with Rollins.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: He attempts to help Rollins [[spoiler:by infiltrating her Gamblers Anonymous group and exposing her sponsor-slash-lover as a womanizing sleazebag. However, since it relates to the case of the week, it also more or less forces Barba to expose Rollins' private life in open court. She's badly humiliated, and arguably this is part of what helps push her OffTheWagon.]]
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: His attempt to save a fellow officer's life in "Amaro's One Eighty" causes Amaro to [[spoiler:come under investigation by InternalAffairs, nearly lose his badge, get falsely tarred by the public as a racist, and have his house shot at by vigilantes who only by pure luck miss Amaro's mother and young daughter. Later, this contributes to the complete loss of any semblance of a future with NYPD, forcing him to retire after being injured.]]
* NoodleIncident: While investigating a college football hazing incident, Amaro references his own time on a school football team and tells Fin "I did things I'm not proud of" in the name of team unity. What those things were is never elaborated upon.
* OnceDoneNeverForgotten: Much like his predecessor, Amaro is dogged by his "getting furious" incidents.
* PapaWolf:
** Don't even breathe around Zara.
** Also goes into this mode in ''Undercover Blue'' when [[spoiler:he discovers he'd fathered a child while undercover. When he discovers the child's stepfather is involving the kid in drug deals, Amaro is ''pissed.'']]
* PersonAsVerb: In one episode Rollins starts to cast doubt on a seemingly ironclad confession by a suspect, and Cragen tells her not to "go Amaro" on him.
* ProperlyParanoid: His obsessive checking of bathroom stalls in the season 13 finale/season 14 premiere is a little OTT, but justified by the fact that he was individually targeted for a FrameUp.
* PutOnABus: [[spoiler:To California in the Season 16 finale, to join his two children over there]].
* RaisedCatholic: Amaro falls closer to the devout end of the spectrum; however, he professes a very firm belief in divorce due to his parents' abusive relationship, and has no hesitation when a case requires them to go after a PedophilePriest.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: Though his actor is credited in the Season 13 premiere, he only makes his debut in the following episode.
* ShipTease: With Rollins, of whom he's quite protective.
* StarCrossedLovers: With Cynthia, the sister of a drug kingpin in whose organization Amaro went undercover.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Amaro joined the show shortly after Elliot left. Like Elliot, Amaro is a Catholic family man with a tumultuous relationship with his wife. He's also shown himself to be slightly unhinged [[spoiler:(pulling a gun on an uncooperative witness)]], though time will tell whether he goes as crazy as Elliot.
** {{Deconstruction}}: As of "Surrendering Noah," [[spoiler:all of Amaro's Elliot-like actions have resulted in actual punishments and consequences, the likes of which Elliot himself always seemed to escape. It's explicitly said that Amaro is "damaged goods" and has no hope of career advancement at the NYPD.]] Verges a little bit on CantGetAwayWithNuthin territory considering some of the incidents were Amaro responding to direct violence ([[spoiler:the shooting in "Amaro's One-Eighty", the subsequent attack on his house and family]]) rather than initiating it for the sake of interrogation.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He is repeatedly told that he's a FairCop, and stands 6 feet to boot.
* TokenMinority: The show's first Latino main character, though Barba is introduced a season later (and joins the main cast the following one).
* TwoFirstNames: Amaro is actually used as a given name in countries with Latino heritage.
* TheUnfavorite: It is said in "Padre Sandunguero" that his father never abused his sister like he did to him.
* TheVillainKnowsWhereYouLive: The BigBad of season 14's opener shows up at Amaro's house while he's playing with his daughter. Amaro is, naturally, [[PapaWolf furious.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: He gets a spectacular one from Rollins after he [[spoiler:infiltrates her Gamblers Anonymous group.]]
* WifeBasherBasher: Played with. While it's established early on that Amaro has issues relating to his father's abuse of his mother, and violence against women and children is certainly a sore spot for him at times, he's also unafraid to express skepticism of victims when necessary (and has correctly identified a WoundedGazelleGambit or two). This makes sense due to his conflicted feelings toward his mother and sister, who are among his father's biggest defenders.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:A.D.A Rafael Barba]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/img_8.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/RaulEsparza

The fourth A.D.A. to work with the SVU, Barba is a bit more fierce than his predecessors, and usually less willing to bend the rules for a victory, unless it's personal -- such as [[spoiler: allowing Benson to lie on the stand during her kidnapper's trial.]] He's also a little… eccentric, with his flashy clothes and occasional vacations.
----
* AbusiveParents: "Padre Sandunguero" heavily implied that his father was this.
--> '''Barba''': [[spoiler:I know what it's like to have to face down your old man. Mine's dead fifteen years and my hand still curls into a fist when I think about him.]]
* AffectionateNickname: Olivia has taken to calling him "Rafa". [[ShipTease Outside of his childhood friends, she is the only one who calls him by anything aside from his last name or the title "Counselor".]]
* AmbiguouslyGay: Speculation is rampant as to whether he's gay or bisexual. The one consensus seems to be that he is definitely not straight. The coordinated (and pastel!) suspenders, pocket squares, and ties certainly don't help.
* AmbiguouslyBi: This is more likely. "Funny Valentine" and "October Surprise" confirmed that he's had past attractions to women, and he certainly has plenty of ShipTease with Olivia, but he also has noticeable moments of HoYay with Amaro, Carisi, and, strangely, a few suspects; the one from the infamous belt incident, the perp who attacked other gay men in "Criminal Hatred", and the crowner: "Comic Perversion". He called the perp good-looking, to which the perp replied that he "wasn't so bad himself, but he didn't swing that way" (to which Barba said nothing about himself); when Barba referenced what the perp did to his victims, the perp said, "I didn't realize we were having a menage a trois"; and when Barba mentioned the victim having bruising and tearing from violent anal sex, "I'm sure you've been there, bruised that, right?" Barba seems to point out that the male perps are "good-looking" quite a lot, actually. It also helps that his actor, Raúl Esparza, is himself openly bisexual and already seems to share a lot of background with Barba.
* AnywhereButTheirLips: [[spoiler: He kisses Olivia on her forehead after he resigns from his [=ADA=] post and tells her goodbye.]]
* AuthorAppeal: Barba is often snacking during his scenes. Raúl Esparza tweets and instagrams about food a ''lot.''
* AwesomeEgo: Barba thinks he's a superb lawyer. He isn't wrong.
* BadassInANiceSuit: He's definitely badass, as shown when he [[RefugeInAudacity lets a rapist strangle him in his first episode]]. And he's always wearing nice suits. As a RunningGag, he always seems to button the top button of his suit jacket as he begins to cross-examine a witness, even multiple times an episode. He also tends to start shedding layers as he gets deeper into a case; when you see him in his office in nothing but suspenders over his shirt with rolled-up sleeves, having ditched both his [[WaistcoatOfStyle vest]] ''and'' his suit jacket, you ''know'' he's getting down to business.
* BigEater: He seems to be eating in almost all of his scenes in season 14, though not a single scene in 15 showed him eating.
* BloodKnight: Seems to enjoy the adversarial process more than pursuing justice, at least at first. He certainly enjoys the fight in the courtroom, and often takes visible satisfaction in getting the better of defense attorneys and hostile witnesses alike.
* BotheringByTheBook: Excellent at this.
* BreakoutCharacter: He was originally slated to have a four-episode arc in season 14, but he became so popular with fans that he was promoted to regular at the start of the following season and has remained so until mid Season 19. This makes him one of only three [=ADAs=] (and the first since the end of Season 9) to last more than a season with SVU, after Alexandra Cabot and Casey Novak. As of his last appearance, he is the ADA with the most main cast credits in SVU, (although he is behind both Cabot and Novak in total episode count).
* BrutalHonesty: A trademark of his in dealing with SVU detectives, victims, witnesses... and people in general. He tells the victim of the very first case he works with the SVU squad that the biggest secret she's trying to hide will be the one that the defense will use against her the most, and outright tells her that she won't like him when they're done with the trial. When she expresses dislike for him immediately, he just smirks. He does soften up a bit as the series continues.
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Played with. He's extremely competent at his work and knows how to hold himself professionally to garner respect. However he's got a fair share of eccentricities, mainly showing in his sometimes bizarre fashion choices and [[MustHaveCaffeine extreme caffeine addiction]]. He also is prone to prop his legs up on tables or sit directly on top of them while discussing things instead of sitting normally.
* TheBusCameBack: Shows up via Skype mid-way through Season 21.
* ButNowIMustGo: [[spoiler: In "The Undiscovered Country", he thanks Olivia for changing his life for the better before telling her he needs to "move on", after the events of the episode left his emotions and reputation in shambles]].
* CrusadingLawyer: But decidedly more pragmatic than his most notable predecessors, Cabot and Novak.
* TheDandy: He is obsessed with his immaculate suits.
* DeadpanSnarker: One of the snarkiest characters, especially now that Munch has left.
* DevilsAdvocate: While he has a very strong moral compass, he quickly takes to playing this role in all the cases he gets involved with because he wants to make sure that ''nobody'' is going to surprise him in court with an explanation, circumstance, or other inconvenient truth that he doesn't already know about (and therefore hasn't already prepared for). As a result he pokes holes in the team's arguments until they can get enough evidence so that he can't poke anymore.
* DisappearedDad: [[spoiler:His father has been dead for fifteen years. Barba's emotions towards him are more anger than fondness.]]
* DramaticDeadpan: Barba has a tendency to say horrifying or dramatic things in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The belt stunt in his very first episode made it very clear that the "big brass... ego" that was attributed to him earlier in the episode was no InformedAbility.
* {{Foil}}: To Nick Amaro. Both are Cuban-American Latino men who grew up with abusive fathers, but their personalities and the paths in life they took are quite different, which lead them to clash at times. Amaro is impatient with formalities and has a more explosive temper which leads him to try to take things into his own hands. Barba on the other hand has taken to the finer things in life, TranquilFury is more his brand of anger, and as a lawyer his preferred battleground is in Court.
* FriendlyRivalry: Has something of this with Rita Calhoun, although the "friendliness" leans more prickly. They debuted in the same episode and seem to have a history of knowing each other. Any cases they take on opposing each other typically involves banter as if they've been doing so for a long time, and they do have a level of respect for one another.
* GoodIsNotNice: He is unquestionably a force for good, but is sometimes forced to bow to political or legal exigencies when prosecuting cases. He also goes after his witnesses ''hard'' during trial prep, because he needs to prepare them for how hard the defense is likely to be on them.
* HelloAttorney: Played by Raúl Esparza. Enough said.
* HeroWithBadPublicity: He saves his childhood friend Eddie [[spoiler:from getting hung out to dry by their mutual lifelong friend [[BitchInSheepsClothing Alex Muñoz]], but publicly, ''Barba'' is the one branded as a disloyal {{sellout}} for tanking Muñoz's chance to be New York's first Hispanic mayor.]]
* HonorBeforeReason: Barba all but explicitly admits to this in "Comic Perversion" when he openly regrets allowing Olivia to talk him into taking a nigh-unwinnable case. Risking his career to help his treacherous friend Muñoz qualifies as well.
* HumiliationConga: "October Surprise", from around halfway through until the end. Yelina, his ex-girlfriend and best friend Alex's wife, taunts him about their former relationship; Alex throws it in his face again [[UngratefulBastard while Barba is trying to help him]]; Amaro gets angry at him and threatens to report him while throwing his past in his face; he learns that Alex has been sexting underage girls and must go after him; Alex once again insults him and uses Yelina against him, saying they both think he's jealous of Alex, and questions how much money Barba is getting to go after him (implying that he truly ''does'' think Barba is a sellout); Alex does a press conference and calls Barba a sellout again, "the lapdog of this city's aristocracy", resulting in the poor people of the city turning on Barba; he drowns his sorrows with Amaro and Benson before going to Alex's arraignment and is heckled by the reverend who worked Alex's campaign.
* IconicSequelCharacter: He is the show's third prominent ADA and the second-longest serving one (again, both to the show and franchise in general), but didn't make an appearance until Season 14.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He has both nice and jerkass side. He actually '''tears up''' while giving a summation in a murder case based on Treyvon Martin, and he [[PetTheDog promises a rape victim that he's in her corner]] and that he's only pushing her hard because defense will. Unlike in his first episode, he goes softer on her when she needs it. He also has become close to the squad, especially Olivia. He still acts tough in court or when challenged, but otherwise, he's really not a Jerkass anymore.
* JerkassHasAPoint: All the A.D.A.s come off as this at one point or another, but Barba is the prime example. Barba is in the habit of constantly questioning the credibility of witnesses, victims, suspects, and even the SVU detectives, much to their chagrin, even when he clearly is in agreement with their viewpoints. In his first case, he explicitly tells the detectives he doesn't care if the victim is telling the truth - he only cares that she appears credible since that's all that matters to the jury. Even after becoming closer to SVU, Barba still takes everything they say with a grain of salt, best shown in an episode dealing with a domestic abuse case:
-->'''Olivia''': The arresting officer says she wasn't abused, but we can't take [the arresting officer's] word for it.\\
'''Barba''': I take your word for it all the time.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: His charm is rather like a shark's -- beautiful and deadly. And he's not exactly the nicest person around. But every so often, his softer side slips through.
* LoveMakesYouCrazy: In "Funny Valentine," Barba admits to a touch of this regarding the girl he was in love with in high school:
-->'''Barba:''' She could have massacred my whole family and I would have looked the other way.
* LikeAnOldMarriedCouple: the sort of dynamic he develops with Olivia over time.
--> '''Barba''' What are you going to be doing when you're 85?
--> '''Olivia:''' Squabbling with you
--> '''Barba:''' Wouldn't that be nice?
* ManlyTears: Though it takes until his PutOnABus episode for him to be seen actually crying onscreen, he has occasionally choked up with teary eyes while discussing and/or prosecuting cases. Unsurprisingly, these are usually triggered by cruelty to children or teenagers.
* MeaningfulName: He's named for the archangel Raphael, who represents acts of healing in the Abrahamic religions. [[IronicName Ironically]] Barba explicitly tells Olivia that he's "a prosecutor, not a healer" early in their relationship, but eventually his [[DefrostingIceKing personality mellows out]] into one that's noticeably more invested in the wellbeing of the victims he fights for.
* MotorMouth: He talks very terse and very fast. Rollins blames his caffeine habit.
* MustHaveCaffeine: He is ''legendary'' for this.
-->'''Muñoz:''' I thought we could grab a cup of coffee.\\
'''Barba:''' I'm already on my fourth cup. (Note that this scene takes place early in the morning, and throughout the day he is seen drinking at least two more cups.)
** And in another episode:
--->'''Rollins:''' (After Barba talks fast enough that the detectives can't get a word in edgewise) You ever think about going off caffeine?\\
'''Barba:''' [''without missing a beat''] That would be a no. So, why are we here?
* MutualEnvy: With his childhood friend Alex Muñoz. Muñoz is jealous of Barba getting a scholarship to Harvard and leaving their old barrio; Barba is envious of him because his mom said Alex would one day be the mayor of New York but never said that about him, and because Muñoz married the girl Barba loved (and may still love).
* TheNapoleon: Downplayed. He's not exactly a short man but is the shortest of his fellow main male cast members and by proxy comes off this way in comparison. The fact [[StatuesqueStunner Olivia]] is taller than him in heels doesn't help. As for personality, Barba's actually fairly coolheaded but he's got a very sharp tongue and knows how to use it. He was also first described as having a "big brass ego".
* NegatedMomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:In "Reasonable Doubt," anticipation builds for Barba's cross-examination of the Creator/WoodyAllen-Creator/RomanPolanski [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed stand-in defendant]]. Barba himself can barely contain his eagerness to rip the guy to pieces on the witness stand. However, anyone hoping for a "Twenty-Five Acts" level of verbal beatdown is left disappointed, as the defendant flees the country in the middle of the trial.]]
* NotSoStoic: Normally snarky and unflappable, Barba is visibly emotional during his summation in "American Tragedy" and when looking at the perp's fantasies of torturing young boys in "Thought Criminal". He also chokes up in court in "Institutional Fail" when discussing the death of an abused young girl, and his eyes are markedly teary.
** In "The Undiscovered Country", he breaks down completely while on the stand.
* TheOneWhoMadeItOut: Grew up in an extremely poor barrio in the Bronx with his two childhood friends, Alex Muñoz and Eddie Garcia. Eddie and Alex stayed in the barrio, and Alex "single-handedly saved the neighborhood", while Barba took a scholarship to Harvard and never looked back. Not only does Alex resent him for this, it's implied that fellow Cuban-American Amaro disapproves as well. And once Muñoz [[spoiler: gets charged with possession of child pornography and solicitation of a minor]] because of Barba, he gets the poor people who supported Muñoz to turn against Barba as well.
* OnlySaneMan: Inherited this role from Huang. Perhaps the best proof of this is "Jersey Breakdown"; at the end [[spoiler: Benson is drinking, Rollins is gambling, and Nick is stalking his ex wife, but he isn't shown to be doing anything but his normal routine]].
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
** Taking an actual [[HonorBeforeReason illegal career risk]] to help his old friend Muñoz "get out in front" of the case that's building against him. Given Barba's ambition and the fact that he's normally a strict RulesLawyer, it shows just how deep his loyalty to Muñoz goes.
** Also, allowing [[spoiler: Benson to perjure herself in Psycho/Therapist shows both how much he cares about her and how desperate he is to put Lewis away.]]
** In "Padre Sandunguero," he's noticeably off his game in court when [[spoiler: he has to cross-examine Detective Amaro's father, who triggers memories of Barba's own implied-to-be-abusive father. You can see Barba clenching his fist while questioning Amaro Sr., which he earlier in the episode admitted to doing whenever he thought of his own father.]] Afterwards, he admits with some bewilderment that he doesn't know how the cross-examination got away from him.
* PapaWolf: Much like Benson, he tends to become protective over underage victims and usually goes the extra mile for them.
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Was a RecurringCharacter in Season 14 before being upgraded to a series regular during Seasons 15-19, due to [[BreakoutCharacter fan response]].
* PutOnABus: Leaves the show halfway through Season 19.
* RefugeInAudacity: [[EstablishingCharacterMoment In his first episode]], he goaded a defendant into strangling him, right in front of the judge and jury, and in Criminal Hatred, Benson expresses incredulity when she asks him if he's really going to accuse a gay man of committing hate crimes against other gay men. His response? "Watch me."
* RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun: More than once, other characters have brought up a legendary case Barba won before joining the Manhattan SVU squad, securing a seemingly impossible conviction against two johns who raped a prostitute after she had already serviced one of them.
* RomanticRunnerUp: An episode reveals that he's an UnluckyChildhoodFriend to a woman who married his (cheating) RivalTurnedEvil who was running for NYC Mayor.
* RulesLawyer: Prefers to manipulate the system, rather than defy or challenge it. Prime examples are "Lessons Learned" and "Downloaded Child".
* RummageSaleReject: Some of his clothing choices dip into this category. While he's rarely ever seen in anything other than a tailored suit, he's often wearing said-suit with something... off-kilter. Case in point, one episode had him wearing a paisley tie, windowpane shirt, and polka-dotted socks all at the same time.
* SelfMadeMan: Grew up in a poor barrio in the Bronx; when he and Benson are investigating an elite private high school, Barba mentions he would have given anything to be able to attend, but bitterly notes that "the only kids they took from ''my'' neighborhood were athletes." He eventually earned a scholarship to Harvard, and made the most of it.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler: [[PutOnABus His final episode]], Barba stopped the life support of the baby of the man he was forced to prosecute in order to end the child's pain and the couple's suffering. While he stood trial for his actions, he was found not guilty.]]
* SharpDressedMan: This man rivals [[Series/{{Sherlock}} Mycroft Holmes]] in the suit porn department.
* ShipTease: Plenty of it with Benson, to the point that they are the FanPreferredCouple over Benson and Cassidy (and later, Benson and Tucker).
* SixthRanger: In a sense to the SVU detectives; he becomes close to the main team, and often investigates crimes and interrogates criminals right alongside them despite being a lawyer and not a cop.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Some fans see him this way, although [[EnsembleDarkhorse not necessarily in a bad way.]]
* TheStoic: Typically talks in a very even tone except when he's debating in a courtroom and rarely ever cracks a smile that isn't a subtle smirk.
* SugarAndIcePersonality:
** Though snarky and somewhat distant with most of his coworkers and other people he encounters at work, when we see him interacting with his friends and [[spoiler: best friend's wife, who also happens to be his ex-girlfriend]] in "October Surprise", he is warm and kind. He hugs all of them at various points and gives big smiles (which account for four of the maybe five times he is shown smiling in the series.)
** This also applies to his family members, his mother and his grandmother whom he affectionately refers to as his Mamí and Abuelita and is seen helping out while visiting.
** He's also grown to be quite sweet around Olivia when they aren't arguing about a case; in fact, in "December Solstice" when she's asking him about Noah's parentage, he's downright ''tender'' with her, and he openly shows concern for her whenever she's going through a rough time, making sure she's okay and reacting [[TranquilFury furiously]] to anyone who threatens her.
* ThatWasObjectionable:
-->'''Barba''': ''Objection!'' Argumentative and... ridiculous!
* TookALevelInKindness: In his first episode, Barba's first impression is to deride Olivia and Rollins's presence in the NYPD as 'take your daughter to work day'. He also doesn't seem to care for the victim at all and at one point reduces her to tears. Over the rest of the 14th season, he softened to where he was as much of a shark as ever in the courtroom but showed his softer side for the victims. Then, in season 15, this is taken UpToEleven when he cries over one case, often promises the victims he is in their corner and goes gentler on them when they need it. He is also shown being especially gentle to younger people as well as a staunch defender of women's rights. It is implied that William Lewis' attack on Olivia, which he blames himself for, may be the main reason for his change in attitude.
* TranquilFury: Generally reacts with mild snarky irritation when a case isn't going his way or the detectives insist on making his job difficult. However, when pushed further, this is in full effect, such as when confronting Muñoz in "October Surprise" and when Olivia is threatened in "Betrayal's Climax". He also becomes ''scathingly'' furious in "Girl Dishonored" when confronting the dean of a university attempting to cover up a rape epidemic on its campus; it's clear he's absolutely ''livid'' as he eviscerates her in front of a grand jury.
* UnlimitedWardrobe: He rarely wears the same suit for an entire episode, much less across different episodes.
* VitriolicBestBuds:
** Becomes this with Olivia, where he often clashes with her over viewpoints or what next steps to take in working a case, but they work very well together and ultimately have each other's backs.
** Also develops a bit of this with Carisi in a more one-sided sense. Carisi clearly looks up to Barba as a lawyer while Barba tends to view him as a nuisance. But eventually Barba comes to be more supportive of Carisi.
* WaistcoatOfStyle: He can often be seen wearing this when he's not in his standard [[BadassInANiceSuit nice suit]] or suspenders.
* WellDoneSonGuy: It's implied in "October Surprise" that Barba has this issue with his mother, since she seems to have more confidence and admiration for Alex Muñoz than for her own son.
* WhatTheHellHero: Amaro gives him one of these for his kid-gloves treatment of Muñoz.
* WorthIt: When Amaro calls him out on the foolishness of risking his job for his UngratefulBastard friend Muñoz, Barba shrugs and basically dares Amaro to report him. [[spoiler: Later averted. Though he didn't get in trouble, Muñoz's ungrateful, entitled attitude ends up leading him to insult Barba on national television. Barba no longer thinks it was worth it.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:A.D.A. Peter Stone]]
[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/svu_stone.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Other Appearances:''' ''Series/ChicagoJustice'' | ''Series/ChicagoPD'' | ''Series/ChicagoMed''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/PhilipWinchester

* CloudcuckoolandersMinder: His sister is schizophrenic and relegated to an asylum.
* MeaningfulName: His first name, Peter, means rock....his last name is Stone.....he has chiseled features like an Adonis statue....and a bit of a stoic with a deep voice.
* HelloAttorney: He's a TallDarkAndHandsome A.D.A.
* MrFanservice: I mean, just look at him. In his first scene in season 20, he was practically naked in bed with just a ModestyBedsheet covering his naughty bits....and he had TWO women in bed with him...
* PromotionToOpeningTitles: Was upgraded to a series regular during mid Seasons 19 following Barba's departure.
* SpinOffspring: He's the son of [[Series/LawAndOrder the parent series']] Benjamin Stone.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He stands 6'1.
* {{Transplant}}: From ''Series/ChicagoJustice'' to ''SVU''.
[[/folder]]

!!Police

[[folder:Capt. Ed Tucker]] [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/9815e29a_ae97_49dd_ac58_62b2a3a9fea1.jpeg]]
%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/RobertJohnBurke

Part of the Internal Affairs Bureau who has it out for the SVU.
----
* BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:He returns for an episode in Season 21, and reveals that he has had contracted lung cancer from his time working at the ruins of the Twin Towers, and had known of it while he was dating Liv. By the time of his retirement in this episode, it had metastasized to his brain, causing memory loss and a terminal prognosis. He chooses to end his own life in order to spare his new wife the tragedy of his slow succumbing to the disease.]]
* CharacterDevelopment: Finally eases up on SVU fifteen seasons into the show, and is even casual and friendly enough with Benson to share drinks with her on occasion.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:He kills himself so that his wife won’t have to watch him slowly die of cancer.]]
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: As a member of the Internal Affairs Bureau, he serves an important function: investigating members of the police who have gone bad or otherwise stepped out of bounds. No one really likes it when he comes knocking, though, especially since he has it out for SVU and Stabler in particular.
* HeelFaceTurn: It's been building up for years, but as of the Season 17 Finale, it's finally become official: [[spoiler: he leaves Internal Affairs to join the ESU's Hostage Negotiation Unit and gets a RelationshipUpgrade with Benson.]]
* IconicSequelCharacter: A prominent RecurringCharacter of the show who did not show up until Season 3.
* InternalAffairs: Played up to the full extent of the office's antagonism. Cragen and Benson explain to Amaro that he is fairly out to get them.
* {{Jerkass}}: Generally, though select cases will have even him backing up SVU.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Considering how more than one episode has involved innocent people having their lives ruined by the frequently overzealous efforts of the SVU detectives once they're convinced of a suspect's guilt (Stabler certainly but even Olivia and Capt. Cragen at times), and it's a wonder why any of them still have their badges.
* LawfulStupid: Refuses to back down from targeting SVU officers until there is no chance of success left available.
* PetTheDog:
** Admits to Amaro in "Amaro's One-Eighty" that he would have reacted even more poorly to people shooting at his family.
** Tucker and IAB even take Olivia's side against William Lewis, when evidence is "inconclusive", and suggests she share a story that isn't necessarily the truth, that would allow them to close the case without further incident. Of course, none of the detectives at this point trust him to keep his word, but he does anyway.
* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Says of Cassidy (to Cassidy's girlfriend no less!), "Even for a mick he's thick."
* RelationshipUpgrade: [[spoiler:With Olivia in Season 17.]]
* RightForTheWrongReasons: He [[RuleOfDrama only seems to show up]] when the SVU detectives haven't done anything wrong. Whenever the detectives have done something for which they truly [[KarmaHoudini deserve to be fired or thrown in jail]], he's [[StatusQuoIsGod nowhere to be seen]].
* SecretlyDying: [[spoiler:In “The Longest Night of Rain”, after reconnecting with Benson, he reveals to her he is dying of lung cancer that has metastasized to his brain. He later kills himself at the end of the episode so his new wife won’t suffer having to watch him slowly succumb to the disease.]]
* TookALevelInKindness: ''Fifteen seasons into the show'' (!), Tucker is shown to express some actual sympathy when he's called to investigate Amaro and Benson for things he knows full well aren't their fault.
** His first hint of this comes in in Season 10, where (according to Benson and Stabler) he actually apologized for coming down too hard on something that turned out to be the right call, but because he's back to normal in his next few appearances, it comes off as more of a one-off PetTheDog moment than an indication of his greater character, at least until it's in the context of the the more sustained change in later seasons.
* WindmillCrusader: Simply believes it is a matter of time before SVU cops go bad, and as such focuses on their department in particular. This extends to people who work with SVU, such as FBI Agent Dr. Huang, who the Internal Affairs Board doesn't even have jurisdiction over. He even admits to Benson that the reason he joined IAB in the first place was because he has trust issues.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Capt. Steven Harris]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adam_baldwin_as_captain_steven_harris_in_law_and_order_special_victims_unit_adam_baldwin_41531014_1260_839.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/AdamBaldwin

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Knows that SVU not liking him isn't a personal thing and doesn't really hold it against them when they're irritated with his changes. (Also introduces SVU to Rafael Barba, thus making him responsible for a law enforcement ''tour de force''.)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lt. Declan Murphy]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/declanmurphy.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DonalLogue

* DaChief: Takes over this role late in season 15.
* FakeIrish: In universe, he uses a [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent horrible]] [[{{Oireland}} Oirish]] accent while undercover.
* IconicSequelCharacter: A prominent RecurringCharacter of the show who did not show up until Season 15.
* IndyPloy: [[spoiler:When Rollins shows up as a potential SpannerInTheWorks to his undercover scheme in "Gambler's Fallacy," Murphy improvises a role for her.]]
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: [[spoiler:Creator/DonalLogue's other television show, ''Series/{{Gotham}}'', got picked up. Murphy gets PutOnABus with a sudden undercover assignment in the season 15 finale.]]
* UrineTrouble: ''Pisses his pants'' as part of a ploy to gain a perp's sympathy (ItMakesSenseInContext).
* WhatIsOneMansLifeInComparison: Carries this philosophy in the way he works.
** He perjures himself regarding Liv's admission before the grand jury to make sure that the grand jury thinks about the fact that William Lewis - a complete psychopath - is now off the streets because of what Liv did, even if she went entirely against protocol.
** He ruins an undercover sting that SVU is holding for the sake of finding one girl that is caught up in a prostitution ring and he chews them for focusing on saving one girl instead of finding a way to take the entire group down.
* WhatTheHellIsThatAccent: The "Irish" accent that he uses while undercover is laughable to ridiculous extremes.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He tries to think of the big picture whenever he's undercover and whenever he's the CO at SVU - small victories don't matter when a larger one can be won.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sgt. Michael 'Mike' Dodds]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dodds.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/AndyKarl

The son of SVU's Deputy Chief, William Dodds, Mike is drafted in at the beginning of the seventeenth season to serve as Benson's second-in-command following her promotion to Lieutenant. At first appearing to be his father's proxy, he clashes with the team due to his clinical approach, but his eyes are soon opened to the realities of working at SVU. [[spoiler: As of the season finale, his desire to do what's right has brought him lethal consequences. He is the only policing member of the SVU to be killed in the line of duty.]]
----

%%* ByTheBookCop
* FollowInMyFootsteps: His father clearly wants and expects Mike to do this and potentially even to ''surpass'' him. Mike himself, as it turns out, doesn't love the idea, but struggles with telling his father no.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: From what little we learn of his brother Matthew, it's clear that Mike is the Responsible to his brother's Foolish.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Saves a woman from being shot by her abusive husband in a hostage situation... only to wind up shot himself, and later dying from complications. On his last day at SVU, to boot.]]
* IAmNotMyFather: A rare example in that his relationship with his father is pretty good, but as his character develops, it becomes clear that he doesn't have his father's aspirations -- which is a bit of a problem, because Chief Dodds has, if anything, even more aspirations for Mike than for himself. On a more surface level, he also invokes this with Benson when he makes it clear that his professional loyalties lie with SVU.
--> '''Dodds''': ''(to Benson)'' I just want you to know, what happens at SVU stays at SVU. You have my word.
* ILetGwenStacyDie: [[spoiler:A Season 22 episode indicates that Mike's death is this for Benson.]]
* JerkassHasAPoint: Before the team warms up to him, his suggestions on how to improve productivity at SVU come across as this.
* {{Nepotism}}: Appears to be played straight at first. His father is the Deputy Chief, after all, and he blatantly and overtly greased Mike's way in, but Mike proves to be a competent officer in his own right.
--> '''Tutuola''': Dodds' oldest son, huh? Wonder how he got this job.
* ParentalFavoritism: Has a drug addict brother called Matt. His father is open about his preference for Mike.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Andy Karl was headed to the West End to star in the ''Film/GroundhogDay'' musical, [[spoiler: so Dodds is shot and killed by Gary Munson in the Season 17 finale.]]
%%* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: To an extent. He uses his relationship with his father to get around bureaucracy quicker, but doesn't use it to outright manipulate people.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler: Killed off just as the audience was beginning to get to know him.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Brian Cassidy]]
[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/662967d0_5009.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DeanWinters

A detective formerly employed by the Special Victims Unit. He started out as a NaiveNewcomer to the squad, but he couldn't take the graphic nature of the crimes and transferred to narcotics. Flashforward to the Season 13 finale, and we find him undercover and far less naive. He is now a RecurringCharacter, and stuck working at IAB. Oh, and he's [[spoiler:dating and living with Benson.]]
----
* BreakTheCutie: Done purposely in-universe, in Cassidy's first season, when Cragen sends him to investigate a particularly brutal gang rape to see if he can handle SVU. He can't.
* TheBusCameBack: Returned in the Season 13 finale, "Rhodium Nights", as an undercover cop, and has now become a recurring character and [[spoiler:Benson's boyfriend.]]
* CharacterizationMarchesOn: He returns for the Season 13 finale totally different--they might as well be different characters. He went from being the overly passionate rookie to a pervy perp who enables and has sex with underage sex traffickers. He's actually playing a part while undercover, although he's still far more gruff than his first appearances. There was also the implication that he might have been a dirty cop, although this turned out to be false.
* ADayInTheLimelight: "Internal Affairs."
* DistinguishingMark: A scar on the inside of his thigh, used to show who has had sex with him.
* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: He seems very attached to his mother, and even [[spoiler: takes Olivia on a date to have dinner with her.]]
* FakeGuestStar: He's practically part of the main cast during the first half of Season 1, yet is only credited as a guest star.
* GoodIsNotNice: When he's re-introduced in season 13.
* ImAManICantHelpIt: Averted when he's presented with a [[IfYoureSoEvilEatThisKitten test]] while undercover, ordered to "break in" a prostitute. He takes her into a room but makes an excuse and does not actually have sex with her. Later, after the prostitute accuses him of rape, the prosecutor tries to use this trope against him in court anyway.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: When he returns in season 13, he's not the friendliest guy, but he is ultimately on the side of good.
* NewMeat: Like Liv in the first season, but he ultimately can't handle SVU and leaves.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero : When Cassidy is on trial for rape, his lawyer's attempt to discredit Amaro's testimony unwittingly causes it to come to light that Amaro [[spoiler:has a son he never knew about... which comes as a complete shock to Amaro himself, who only learns the news when he gets suddenly sued for child support. On top of that, Amaro ''then'' discovers his son is being groomed as a drug runner by his [[WickedStepmother stepfather]], and goes full PapaWolf about getting the kid out of there. Cassidy, who had meant to make Amaro look bad on the witness stand but not to throw his life into total chaos, ends up helping Amaro take down the drug dealer stepfather.]]. In truth, this trope was only invoked, as none of the aforementioned problems were actually caused by Cassidy. Amaro just acted like they were.
* PutOnABus:
** Sex Crimes became too much for him so Cragen recommends his transfer to Narcotics. He won't show up again until the Season 13 finale.
** Back on the bus after [[spoiler: amicably breaking up with Benson the second time.]]
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: [[spoiler:Cassidy's breakup with Benson coincides with Dean Winters' other television show getting picked up.]]
* TokenEvilTeammate: While not necessarily evil, he is stuck at IAB for the foreseeable future.
* TwoFirstNames: Cassidy is a common female name.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Danielle "Dani" Beck]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/danibeck.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ConnieNielsen

A member of the Warrants Squad who was briefly assigned to SVU during Olivia's undercover mission.
----
* ActionGirl: Refuses to let Elliot protect her or keep her from operations.
* BattleCouple: She and Elliot were a couple for a while until her last episode.
* BrokenBird: She ultimately can't handle the nature of the crimes that SVU handles and after a particularly brutal case involving abusive parents and their treatment of children under their care, she leaves.
* DistaffCounterpart: She's basically a female Elliot.
* FairCop: A StatuesqueStunner (see below) police detective.
* HotBlooded: Gives Elliot a run for his money until Elliot tells her she can't keep railroading victims into giving her information.
* PluckyGirl: Until she realizes that she can't handle the cases with children.
* RomanticFalseLead: She's the final woman teased heavily with Elliot before he and Kathy reconcile.
* StatuesqueStunner: A FairCop clocking at 5'10 1/2. Kathy Stabler even describers her (begrudgingly) as such.
->'''Kathy:''' (to Olivia) So what happened to [[LampshadeHanging the stunner]]?
* TemporaryLoveInterest: For Elliot. How temporary? They became an item in the same season Elliot reconciles with his wife.
* TemporarySubstitute: For Liv while she was off playing undercover with an environmental group.
* WidowWoman: Her husband was killed in the line of duty.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Nate Kendall]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nate_kendall_unstable.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/WentworthMiller

* CowboyCop: Much more than Stabler, which the latter even finds surprising.
* LeeroyJenkins: Being a CowboyCop much more than Stabler causes him to actually put SVU's cases in jeopardy.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: See all of the entries above.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Ashok Ramsey]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bmji3mdk2ntc2mf5bml5banbnxkftztgwmjgzodc3mje_v1.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/NaveenAndrews

* BadassBookworm: As a detective in the financial crimes unit, he can analyze your bank records AND kick your ass.
* JurisdictionFriction: Notable as a rare complete aversion of this trope, as he, Benson and Stabler don't hesitate to team up when their cases overlap.
* ScaryMinoritySuspect: Subverted -- he's initially treated this way by the perp of the week, and later plays the part to help the detectives trick her.
* TheWisePrince: He came from a very rich family.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Deputy Chief William Dodds]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/williamdodds.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/PeterGallagher

* CharacterDevelopment: He gradually becomes less of an ObstructiveBureaucrat and gets a better relationship with the SVU.
* DaChief: His favorite pastime seems to be ragging in the SCU.
* IconicSequelCharacter: A prominent RecurringCharacter of the show who did not show up until Season 16.
* ObstructiveBureaucrat: When he’s not openly insulting members of the SCU, he’s actively screwing up an investigation or the latest crisis of the week, though he gets better later on.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler:Mike dies in the line of duty during the Season 17 finale.]]
* PutOnABus: He gets transferred to the Traffic and Safety Task Force in Coventry and leaves his position as Deputy Chief.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Detective Frank Bucci]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/frankbucci.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/NicholasTurturro

* ChekhovsGunman: After showing up in one episode of Season 20, he comes back for a major role in Season 21 asking the SCU for help rescuing his daughters from being groomed by Steve Getz.
* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler:After Steve Getz is not charged, Bucci snaps and takes Detective Rollins and Hanover hostage, demanding Getz be charged for raping his daughters.]]
* PapaWolf: A dark version, [[spoiler:since he decides to take Rollins and Hanover hostage if it means punishing Getz.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Detective Robert 'Doom' Dumas]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/robertdumas.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ScottWilliamWinters

* AwesomeMcCoolName: Well, not his real name, but his nickname is '''Doom.'''
* PutOnABusToHell: Gets suspended without pay and charged with reckless endangerment.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sergeant Kevin Donlan]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kevindonlan.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DashiellEaves

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Deputy Commissioner Hank Abraham]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hankabraham.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Josh Pais

An opportunistic campaign manager turned deputy commissioner, who makes it his job to be as much of a dick as humanly possible to the SVU.
----
* EvilAllAlong: [[spoiler:While a complete {{Jerkass}}, no one ever suspected he was a pedophile, much less a part of child pornography ring.]]
* {{Jerkass}}: To the point that the characters actually lampshade it.
* PutOnABusToHell: [[spoiler:After being revealed as a pedophile, he gets sent to prison and is registered as a sex offender, killing his career.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Dave Duethorn]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/daveduethorn.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ErikPalladino

----
* AlliterativeName: '''D'''avid '''D'''uethorn.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Det. Ray Lopez]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/raylopez.JPG]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/KirkAcevedo

[[/folder]]

!!Medical Experts

[[folder: Dr. Rebecca Hendrix]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rebecca_hendrix.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' |
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MaryStuartMasterson

* IdiotBall: Mistakenly assumed the picture a girl drew of her abuser was her coach. The girl, a terrified nine-year-old child who [[MindRape was browbeaten and pressured by her and Elliot]] into making the accusation, went along with it to put a stop to it. [[spoiler: It actually was the local JerkJock, and after Elliot realizes the huge fuck-up, he gets the dude caught.]]
* MinoredInAssKicking: She was classmates with Benson in the academy and was in the force for two years before quitting and becoming a psychiatrist.
* NeverMyFault: Somehow shrugs off responsibility for above mentioned IdiotBall, yet criticizes mothers for doing the same thing and then says the wrong man was accused because the abuser had the girl so frightened. Later ignores that a man's murder was in consequence of her actions.
* RetiredBadass: She was an ex-cop now working as a shrink.
* RomanticFalseLead: For Elliot, as she was introduced almost immediately after he and Kathy separated and got several ShipTease with him. Nothing came out of it and Elliot and Kathy eventually reconcile.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: It's her primary character trait, but unlike the other characters, she lets it detrimentally get in the way of her job, so much so that she quit being a police officer and then is fired as a doctor after that. In "Identity", she was warned that her career would be in jeopardy if she [[spoiler: told the unknowingly and forcibly transgender girl that he was born a boy]]. She did it anyway.
* ShipTease: Upon her introduction, she immediately hits it off with a recently separated (at the time) Elliot. Nothing came out of it.
* TheShrink
* TemporarySubstitute: For Huang in Season 6 (Creator/BDWong was busy with ''Theatre/PacificOvertures'').
[[/folder]]

!!Forensic Science Unit

[[folder: Forensic Technician Burt Trevor]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/burt_trevor.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Daniel Sunjata

* PutOnABus: After "Families", O'Halloran permanently took over his duties without mentions of what happened to him.
* TwoFirstNames: Trevor is as common of a given name as Burt.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Disappears without proper explanation.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Forensic Technician Ryan O'Halloran]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryan_ohalloran_cold.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MikeDoyle

* AloneWithThePsycho: An inversion in that O'Halloran only sees that the computer found a DNA match before [[spoiler: he's stabbed by said killer]]. Elliot only figured it out when he saw the actual results on the screen and by then he's [[spoiler: [[YouAreTooLate arrived too late to save O'Halloran]]]]. Averted in that TheCavalry that arrives ends up captured.
* ADeathInTheLimelight: [[spoiler:He was featured rather prominently during season 10, and especially during "Zebras".]]
* HeKnowsTooMuch: The reason why [[spoiler: Stuckey killed him]]
* TheLabRat: Was the main Forensic Technician season 5 to season 10.
* ShorterMeansSmarter: The shortest person in just about any scene he appears in, and a highly competent forensic technician who has produced case making evidence for the detectives many times over.
* StuffedIntoTheFridge: [[spoiler:Stuckey murdered him mostly because he uncovered the truth, but took some satisfaction in taunting Elliot with his death.]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: NBC made a big deal of SVU losing one of their own in the trailers for the episodes, but we knew next to nothing about O'Halloran, despite him being around for several seasons.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: CSU Technician Dale Stuckey]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screen_shot_2020_03_30_at_94723_pm_900x506.png]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/NoelFisher

* BecauseYouWereNiceToMe: [[spoiler:Stuckey is genuinely dismayed when Benson walks in on him about to kill Stabler, because he didn't want to "have to" hurt her. She manages to use this against him.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: [[spoiler:Does not take criticism well. At all. Although to be fair: while he was annoying, he also didn't need almost every single other character in the show bullying him. It eventually gets to the point where even his meaningful contributions get shot down.]]
* ButtMonkey: He was ''extremely'' unpopular with a lot of viewers, but mostly everyone agreed that, while Stuckey was exaggeratedly incompetent, the nonstop bullying he got from the other main characters bordered on WhatTheHellHero
* {{Catchphrase}}: "Bing Bang Bong."
* FinalBoss: He's the final antagonist in the closing minutes of Season 10.
* TheLabRat: Halloran's second-in-command.
* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: [[spoiler: Is initially (a little too) enthusiastic about working with the detectives and helping get scum off the streets, and Stabler is at first polite even though he finds him irritating. Soon, Stabler keeps dropping more and more hints at just how much Stuckey annoys him, built on by almost every other member of the squad. When Stabler finally starts physically pushing Stuckey around like a high school bully and Cragen blows him off for complaining, Stuckey goes off the deep end.]]
* TemporaryScrappy: Everyone in the SVU absolutely hated him for being extremely annoying and doing many screw ups (such as calling the press to a crime scene to nearly cutting a body by using his shovel). By the end hardly anyone did not roll their eyes when he walked in. [[spoiler: And then he gets dangerous.]] Thankfully, he's only around for a few episodes.
* VillainHasAPoint: Yes, Stuckey is annoying as shit, but he still didn't need to have every single other character on the show bullying him and shooting down even his meaningful contributions, such as his explanation of phone spoofing in "Crush". He gets a PetTheDog moment from Olivia in "Zebras", [[spoiler: but by then it's too little too late.]]
* [[spoiler:WhosLaughingNow]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:TARU Technician Ruben Morales]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ruben_morales.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JoelDeLaFuente

* AscendedExtra: He goes from a nameless background guy to having his own ItsPersonal episode.
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: Vanished without explanation later in the series.
* MauveShirt: Graduates to this over the course of the series.
* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: Zigged-zagged. After the detectives use kinship DNA, he believes it'll lead to [[JumpOffTheSlipperySlope Jumping Off The Slippery Slope]]. His worries are not completely unfounded, especially when Elliot says he's okay with infringing with civil liberties for what he thinks is the greater good. Later he disobeys Cragen's orders to shutdown a kiddie porn site in order to keep the pedophiles from going to unmonitored ones. However this results in a NiceJobBreakingItHero moment where owner of said site is able to escape with pedophiles' help.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Medical Examiner Taylor]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dr_taylor.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/LanceReddick

* BlackAndNerdy: He is a medical examiner.
* OnlyOneName: Hence, we don't know if he's addressed in {{First Name|Basis}} or LastNameBasis.
* PutOnABus: Disappears after Season 3, though Lance Reddick has appeared in the ''Franchise/LawAndOrder'' TV shows four more times as [[YouLookFamiliar different characters]].
[[/folder]]

!!Judicial system

!!! Judges

[[folder:Judge Lena Petrovsky]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lena_petrovsky.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Joanna Merlin

* IconicSequelCharacter: She is one of the prominent judges on the show, but didn't make her first appearance until Season 2.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 12.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: She has a reputation for being tough but fair. While she has frequently shown favor towards the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, she has often sought to curb the DA's power when she felt it was being abused. She is also known overexerting her authority in telling the DA's office how they should prosecute cases.
* WorthyOpponent: Despite the professional animosity between her and Alex, she respects her resiliency.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Judge Elizabeth Donnelly]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/donnelly_persona.jpg]]
-!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Judith Light

* FirstNameBasis: Frequently goes from "Your Honor" or "Judge Donnelly" to "Elizabeth" when speaking with Alex and Casey on more personal matters.
* CoolOldLady: Light's not ''that'' old, but Donnelly's on-off appearances make it clear that she is completely no-nonsense, fierce, and intelligent.
* DeadpanSnarker: Frequently, especially when she's with Benson and Stabler.
* IconicSequelCharacter: She is one of the most prominent recurring characters on the show, but didn't make her first appearance until near the end of Season 3.
* ItsPersonal: Steps down from the bench for a case in Season 10's "Persona" due to her connection with the defendant (see PersonAsVerb below).
* JerkAss: Can occasionally slip into this at times.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 12.
* PersonAsVerb: As revealed in "Persona", when she inadvertently facilitated a defendant's escape from authorities, a DA goofing up big time became known as "Doing a Donnelly".
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Is also respectful of the SVU.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Judge Barry Moredock]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barry_moredock.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JohnCullum

* AmoralAttorney: An extremely rare positive portrayal. Moredock is known to defend clients he finds morally reprehensible, including [[VillainByDefault Neo-Nazis, child murderers, and creators of simulated child pornography]], all because he is a firm believer in the Constitution and the right to a fair trial.
* AntiVillain: While he's a defense attorney, he's not a bad guy at all; he's shown to get along with former student Alex and, later, Casey quite well. His biggest concern is making sure his clients get a fair defense; specifically, he takes cases where he feels the defendants are having their constitutional rights violated. Even if he personally doesn't agree with their views, he maintains that everyone has rights under the law, and is willing to risk a contempt of court charge to stand up for his client's rights. The only thing really "bad" about him is that he's on the opposite side of the protagonists, and this eventually changes when he becomes a judge.
* FriendlyEnemy: Has worked with both Cabot and Novak on separate occasions.
* GracefulLoser: In his first appearance, he loses a case to Alex and graciously congratulates her on her victory, then cheerfully notes that there's still an appeal process.
* HeelFaceTurn: Downplayed. He's not much of a villain, even when serving as the defense for the side opposite the SVU team. However, when he becomes a judge, his antagonism with the detectives disappears entirely, alongside many of his more negative character traits.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: As a judge, he frequently has to throw out cases the SVU detectives bring before him due to circumstantial evidence or a lack of any real crime having been committed.
* RulesLawyer: Very strict on his constitutional law interpretations.
* SmugSnake: Comes off this way at first. However, he does temper this with being a GracefulLoser, and being willing to admit when he's only defending his client due to a legal interest and does not approve of their actions personally. For example, when defending a Neo-Nazi who killed a black child (and wounded two others) on a playground:
-->'''Casey''': Have you had a conversation with him?
-->'''Barry''': Yes, and I find every word he spews morally repugnant. But his speech, despicable as it may be, doesn't entitle anyone to trample all over his constitutional rights, now, does it?
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Delivers an ''epic'' ass-ripping to Lionel Granger when the latter engages in some particularly shady legal tactics.
[[/folder]]

!!!Assistant District Attorneys

[[folder:A.D.A Erica Alden]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ericaalder.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ReikoAylesworth

* DeadpanSnarker: Like all A.D.A.'s she's not without her snark. This shows more than other early A.D.A's as she even snarks out a judge.
* EleventhHourRanger: She was SVU's A.D.A. in the last bit Season 1.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Not as so much for Alden herself, but for future A.D.A's on SVU. She's essentially a prototype of what later A.D.A's would be like, such as getting frustrated by SVU, but at the same time willing to stick their neck out for them, even if it means snarking or going behind authority's back.
* HelloAttorney: The lovely Reiko Aylesworth plays her.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: She only appears in three episodes near the end of Season 1, which, to be fair, is more than the other temporary A.D.A.'s of season 1.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:A.D.A Sonya Paxton]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sonya_paxton.png]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ChristineLahti

* ControlFreak: Stabler accuses her of being this during his ReasonYouSuckSpeech in ''Solitary.'' Paxton [[ArmorPiercingSlap did not take it well.]]
* DefiantToTheEnd: See ManBitesMan below.
* FieryRedhead: She can be very feisty and overbearing.
* FunctionalAddict: While she was able to hide it as being a hardass, but in the episode "Hammered", it got to the point she was ordered to take a breathalyzer test after showing up late and subsquently suspended.
* HeroicSacrifice: She did this while managing to get the DNA of a perp for an important case.
* {{Jerkass}}: Occasionally crosses over into TheBully.
* JerkassHasAPoint: While not the most pleasant individual, her attitude is a necessity when dealing with someone like Stabler.
* LadyDrunk: Has an alcohol problem.
* ManBitesMan: Her LastStand against her killer.
* OffTheWagon: As of "Hammered". And in ''court'', no less.
* PaperTiger: Despite her tough as nails attitude in public, when confronted with actual violence (such as during the climax of ''Sugar''), her composure shatters pretty quickly.
* PetTheDog:
** After a cleared suspect pushes Stabler off a roof out of fear of being sent back to jail where he spent his entire sentence in solitary, Paxton refuses to let him off despite Stabler not wanting to press any charges. However, she does agree to keep him in general population where he can hopefully get some therapy.
** Later, in "Gray": when Stabler's daughter Kathleen took a suspect's disciplinary file, Sonya is almost forced to put her on the stand, which could see her expelled from college. It took some convincing from Stabler, but she eventually relented and decided to state that a confidential informant obtained the file, so Kathleen wouldn't need to be subpoenaed.
* [[spoiler: PrideBeforeAFall]]
* TemporarySubstitute
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: In "Gray", when the trial judge recuses herself due to dirty laundry the defense dug up and was replaced with the judge that ordered her to go to rehab after her drunken faux pas in "Hammered".
--> '''Sonya''': "We're screwed. Officially."
* TheUnfettered: She holds back at almost nothing just to win a case.
* YouAreWhatYouHate: She says a lot of things to belittle alcoholics, even to Cragen's face when he describes what it's like to struggle with alcoholism. Then she shows up to court hammered.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:A.D.A Jo Marlowe]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bnjuxoti5nzyznf5bml5banbnxkftztgwnju5mtg3mje_v1.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/SharonStone

* EleventhHourRanger: She was SVU's A.D.A. in the last four episodes of Season 11.
* HelloAttorney: One who was a FairCop in her prime.
* GuileHero: She's not above manipulating her allies to win a case.
* IllGirl: In her final appearance, she reveals that she has breast cancer.
* LargeHam: Jo is notably theatrical.
* MinoredInAssKicking: She's a former cop prior to her law career.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: It's unclear what Jo stands for.
* RetiredBadass: She's a former cop.
* SexyMentor: She was Stabler's former training officer and frequently acts flirtatious towards him.
* SilverVixen: She's in her fifties and is visibly beautiful (which is unsurprising given that she's played by famous sex symbol).
* StatuesqueStunner: She's 5'9, only an inch shorter than Novak.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:A.D.A Gillian Hardwicke]]
[[quoteright:270:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hardwicke.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MelissaSagemiller

* BrokenPedestal: Somewhat. She revered Benson and Stabler for their success rate in closing cases and was ecstatic when assigned to the 16th, but seeing them work (especially Elliot) has given her headaches due to their method clashing with her usually by-the-book approach.
* BrutalHonesty: She's very upfront about everything.
* CatSmile: She has a cat-like smirk WhenSheSmiles.
* ADayInTheLimelight: Hardwicke shares center stage with Stabler during "Pop."
* FakeGuestStar: She's present in half of Season 12 yet is only credited as a guest-star.
* TheFashionista: Like Greylek before her, Hardwicke was much more fashion conscious in her outfits.
* HelloAttorney: More [[TheCutie cuter]] than outright beautiful but attractive nonetheless.
* MeaningfulName: Hardwick and Hardwicke are common place names in England—this is from the Old English pre-7th century word "heorde", meaning a "herd or flock", with "wic", which like the later Viking word "thorp" described an outlying farm or settlement, which was dependent on a larger village. She is quite by-the-book.
* ToBeLawfulOrGood: While all the ADAs go through this, this is the core conflict in almost all of Hardwicke's cases with SVU. Does she uphold the law, or does she fight for justice for the victims? More than once does she throw a case for the victims.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Only appears for one season.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Disappears after Season 12.
[[/folder]]

!!!Defense Attorneys

[[folder:In General]]

* AffablyEvil: Even though they often defend the most despicable people on Earth, sometimes they're not too difficult to get along with.
* DealWithTheDevil: Sometimes the DA is forced to make these. The trials they're not, they're likely...
* FriendlyEnemy: When there are extenuating circumstances (ex. a defendant who's a victim of a larger crime), SVU's willing to work with the defense.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Roger Kressler]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rogerkressler.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Ned Eisenberg

* BreakoutVillain: Ask any fan of the show who's the poster boy for the most callous defense attorney in the show, the answer is mostly Kressler.
* CardCarryingVillain: The most callous of the defense attorneys.
* CommutingOnABus: Has been the most prominent defense attorney in the series since the very beginning, but he missed the entirety of Seasons 2, 9, 15, 16, and 18.
* SmugSnake: Often seems to actually take pleasure in getting obviously guilty people off the hook.
* TokenEvilTeammate: Compared to the other defense attorney who are more or less only doing their jobs, Kressler acts like a SmugSnake who is essentially EvilGloating.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Trevor Langan]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/trevorlangan.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Peter Hermann

* CommutingOnABus: Has been the second most prominent defense attorney in the series since Season 3 along with Kressler, but he missed the entirety of Seasons 13 and 14.
* FriendlyEnemy: He personally represents Benson twice, once when she's accused of murder and once in family court when she adopts Noah. He's also on the list of people to call up if they're looking to get an attorney for a defendant for whatever reason, such as in Season 11's "Ace", where he represents a doctor who's being blackmailed by the mob (and whose official lawyer was hired by the mob boss) in a "shadow trial" so the doctor can give his testimony without revealing that he's cooperating.
** He also went on a dinner date with Alex in one of the earlier seasons.
* HelloAttorney
* IconicSequelCharacter: He is one of the prominent defense attorneys in the show, but didn't make his first appearance until Season 3.
* PetTheDog: When one of his firm's employees is the VictimOfTheWeek, he holds a press conference to raise awareness and offers a reward for any information helping her case. Granted, it also leads to the detectives ''drowning'' in false leads.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Carolyn Maddox]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/carolyn_maddox.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/CCHPounder

* CommutingOnABus: She's one of the prominent defense attorneys from Seasons 3-12, but missed Seasons 4, 6, 8, 9, and 11.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 12.
* StrawFeminist: Scoffs at the idea of a male being raped by a female in her debut appearance.
* VillainousRescue: Downplayed. Not so much villain, but she was hired to defend Stabler's daughter in court, with the reason specifically given that they wanted the biggest shark of a defense attorney they could find.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Donna Emmett]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/donna_emmett.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ViolaDavis

* AndStarring: She's been bumped to "SpecialGuest Star" status around her final seasons, coinciding with her actressess' rise in profile.
* JerkassHasAPoint: She nails Casey on withholding evidence... and is completely right.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 10. Her actress becoming ''very'' busy since is likely a major reason.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Oliver Gates]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oliver_gates.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BarryBostwick

* AmoralAttorney: Even other defense attorneys consider him to be a bottom feeder.
* InsanityDefense: "Not guilty by mental disease or defect" is his legal M.O.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 8.
* MagnificentBastard: [[invoked]] Inverted. Gates considers himself this but all of his defense strategies are based on variations of "not guilty by reason of mental insanity or defect" rather than countering the prosecution's case. He also has a habit of not digging any further into his client's case than surface level, which cost him his case in "Hate."
* OpportunisticBastard: When a client murders an Islamic prison mate, Gates uses it to argue that his client is not responsible for his actions due to being "hard-wired" to hate Muslims. He later unsuccessfully defended a teenage murder suspect, only to later convince his client to press charges of statutory rape against a witness after it was discovered she was actually a 30-year old woman posing as a 17-year old girl whom he tried to have killed. He even suggests that the hit his client put out on her was due to rape trauma syndrome; which is a rather ridiculous stretch. Bear in mind she was only found out ''after'' she ended up in the hospital and examined.
* SmugSnake: To the point that he takes pride in it.
* VillainHasAPoint: He tells the detectives that his underage male client had sex with an adult woman. When they don't take him seriously he accuses them of using a DoubleStandard and that they would never be so dismissive of a relationship between a teenage girl and an adult male. Of course, he was just trying to set up another idiotic psych defense, but that doesn't change the fact that he's absolutely right.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lionel Granger]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lionel_granger.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' David Thornton

* AmoralAttorney: Granger once let his client, a mentally-challenged teenager whom he knew could not properly testify, take the stand. He was almost disbarred by (now Judge) Barry Moredock. Oh yeah, he also represented his client's molester, before victim killed said molester for which he was now on trial for. [[SarcasmMode Great guy.]]
* EveryoneHasStandards: He's clearly disturbed by his client's behavior in "Mean", to the point of admitting that he wants her committed because he ''genuinely'' thinks she's nuts.
* FrivolousLawsuit: He's fond of filing these in retaliation, no matter how ridiculous they may be.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 11.
* OnlyBadGuysCallTheirLawyers: His law firm's clientele don't have the best track record.
* PunchClockVillain: When off the clock, he's actually rather amiable to the detectives. In "Night", he even leads them to a rape-and-murder suspect who turns out to be the perp.
* SmugSnake: He's a jackass, even by defense attorney standards.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rebecca Balthus]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rebeccabalthus.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/BeverlyDAngelo

* TheBusCameBack: Returns in Season 9 after last appearing in Season 5.
* InsanityDefense: Her main tactic. However, with some of her clients, it isn't entirely unwarranted.
* {{Jerkass}}: Nothing nice ever seems to come out of her mouth whenever she's in the same room with the detectives.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 9.
* PutOnABus: Disappears after Season 5 and isn't seen again until Season 9. After the latter season she disappears again.
* SarcasmMode: Balthus seems permanently stuck on this setting.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nikki Staines]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nikkistainesjpg.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/CallieThorne

* AscendedExtra: Initially just a recurring lawyer (one who was in a LongBusTrip at that), she's given a RapeAsDrama storyline towards the end of Season 20.
* TheBusCameBack: Returns in Season 18 after last appearing in Season 5.
* HelloAttorney: A lawyer played by the beautiful Callie Thorne.
* PutOnABus: Disappears after Season 5 and isn't seen again until Season 18.
* RapeAsDrama: Fellow attorney Rob Miller rapes her during Season 20.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Simone Bryce]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/simone_bryce_&_carrie_lynn_eldridge.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/GlenneHeadly

* CrusadingLawyer: A child advocacy lawyer, she's called the "Mother Theresa of Children's Rights".
* AFriendInNeed: Her first client was actually a 16 year old Olivia Benson. When Liv later becomes an SVU detective, she sometimes refers abused children to Bryce.
* ToBeLawfulOrGood: She went so far as to use an outrageous defense argument she knew to be false because she respected the wishes of her client to keep the circumstances behind the crime a secret.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Matthew Braden]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/matthewbraden.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/StevenWeber

* AmoralAttorney: Stabler calls him out one time on how he can sleep at night while defending a client who is openly intimidating one of his witnesses.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 9.
* MinoredInAssKicking: He was a detective prior to his law career.
* NotSoSimilar: He was a CowboyCop when he was at the force, not unlike Stabler. Braden's career choice after leaving the force kept them from getting along.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Miranda Pond]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tumblr_2bfc89da0562d24efa36b24f2a9060ac_89987a30_500.png]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/AlexKingston

* EnemyMine: She and SVU worked together in order to get a [[CorruptBureaucrat Corrupt Judge]] thrown off the bench.
* HelloAttorney: Played by the vivacious Alex Kingston.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 12.
* TokenMinority: The only non-American recurring attorney.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Patrice [=LaRue=]]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gettyimages_138358308_1024x1024.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JeriRyan

* HelloAttorney: Played by 90s SciFi sex symbol Jeri Ryan.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 11.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:John Buchanan]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/johnbuchanan.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DelaneyWilliams

* AmoralAttorney: A rather noteworthy example in the show - he goes after victims to a truly disgusting degree, and even manages to get away with quipping, "I'm sorry if I was too rough with you," to a young woman on the stand who was brutally raped.
* CommutingOnABus: He's one of the prominent defense attorneys since Season 11, but missed Seasons 12, 14, 19, and 20.
* FatBastard: Large and completely awful to everyone that isn't his client.
* HeroAntagonist: In the episode "Devestating Story". The detectives investigate the report of a gang rape and very publicly arraigned three of the four suspects. Buchanan found evidence that the fourth suspect was in another state at the time of the alleged rape. The detectives [[HeelRealization realize that]] the accusation was false and they had [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone ruined the reputations of innocent people]]. Buchanan may be a huge jerk, but he was unquestionably the hero of this episode.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: All his clients tend to share the same thick pockets.
* SmugSnake: Always acts like he's going to win his cases, to an irritating degree.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Sherri West]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/adasherriwest.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/FrancieSwift

* FaceHeelTurn: A lesser version. She used to be an ADA but for some reason she's now a defense attorney.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 13.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bayard Ellis]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mv5bztm5zdywntitognhms00m2q5ltg1ztutowuxmjfjzjhmywjmxkeyxkfqcgdeqxryyw5zy29kzs13b3jrzmxvdw_v1.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/AndreBraugher

* TheAtoner: It's quickly mentioned in his backstory that Ellis formerly defended drug lords, then took the money and switched over to civil rights causes.
* FireForgedFriends: In their first episode together, Benson was devastated because Ellis got a guilty rapist off the hook. By midway through Season 14, after finding themselves on the same side several times, they have come to like and respect each other a great deal.
* GoodIsNotDumb: He's compassionate and extends himself to help Benson many times, but he needs only the smallest of verbal clues to figure out her relationship with EADA Haden and use it to his advantage.
* HeroAntagonist: Despite occasionally being at loggerheads with the SVU squad, it becomes clear that Ellis is genuinely committed to his principles.
* IdenticalStranger: He certainly looks like [[Series/HomicideLifeOnTheStreet Frank Pembleton]].
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Andre Braugher's role on ''Series/BrooklynNineNine'' is probably the reason why Ellis hasn't appeared in a while.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Barry Querns]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/barryquerns.png]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/RegECathey

* AmoralAttorney: Even by the usual L&O standards of portraying defense attorneys this way. As Cassidy describes him, "He's a fantastic lawyer if you're guilty, but he ''sucks'' if you're innocent."
* BadassBaritone: Whatever else you can say for the guy, he has an ''awesomely'' deep voice.
* EnemyMine: [[spoiler:Agrees to help the detectives take down his former employer Bart Ganzel.]]
* EtTuBrute: For just a moment, he appears genuinely shaken to find out his employer is not only a huge racist but setting him up to take the fall for a laundry list of crimes.
* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: [[spoiler:Ganzel's racism and plot to [[FrameUp frame]] Querns inspires this.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rita Calhoun]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ritacalhounsvu.jpg]]
-!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ElizabethMarvel

* TheAtoner: Is very aware that her actions in "Criminal Pathology" has affected how Liv and [[TheRival Barba]] view her and decides to work a few cases pro bono, including a case in which she helps build a case against a young man who might have sexually assaulted a young woman.
* BrokenPedestal: Though she maintains plausible deniability of her clients' actions in most cases, the Season 17 opening episodes have her clearly defending a murderer. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Alongside]] [[SmugSnake Buchanan]]. Barba clearly loses a bit of respect of her for doing so.
* DeadpanSnarker: She’s one of the few A.D.A.s who can go head-to-head with Barba in court with just as much snark and she has this gem in "Legitimate Rape":
-->'''Purcell''': I was just trying to show her how much I loved her.\\
'''Calhoun''': By spying on her, menacing her, and humiliating her publicly? Ever heard of flowers?
* FriendlyEnemy: She's defended people SVU have tried to help, has represented Amaro in court and acted as counsel to Benson when IAB investigates [[spoiler:her involvement in the death of William Lewis]].
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 18.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Though money doesn't seem to be her primary motivator for what she does, she has the briefest of these moments in "Criminal Pathology", in which a deal she's attempting to negotiate with Barba is falling short of her expectations:
-->'''Calhoun''': A public defender could [negotiate for that much of a plea bargain]. This man is paying for more.\\
'''Barba''': ...I hope here's enough money in the world, Rita, I really do.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: For all the times she's lost cases because of SVU and Barba, she's still willing to act in their defense if the situation calls for it. The fact that Barba himself doesn't hesitate to ask her for assistance says a lot for how much he trusts her to do her job. Best exhibited when comparing her appearances in Post-Mortem Blues and Spousal Privilege. In the former, she acts as Benson's representative and is quick to warn the SVU detectives of the ways IAB and the Brooklyn DA can exploit weaknesses, whereas in the latter she doesn't hesitate to knock down Benson's credibility a few notches in court for the sake of her client.
* TheRival: It seems like she is this to Barba. They mutually respect the other's abilities in court and are quick to snipe at the other off the record and in front of the cameras.
* StatuesqueStunner: Especially when standing next to Barba.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Minonna Efron]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/minnonaefronjpg.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/NiaVardalos

* BewareTheSillyOnes: She appears kind of frumpy and goofy, but is capable of handing Barba his ass in court.
* {{Foil}}: To Rafael Barba. Both her fashion sense and verbal style are more coarse and blunt compared to Barba's [[SharpDressedMan suit porn]] and [[DeadpanSnarker sharp tongue]], yet she's a strong adversary.
* LongBusTrip: Hasn't been seen since Season 15.
* PunchClockVillain: She's a perfectly nice human being, except when she's in a courtroom, where she turns into a legal shark.
* RefugeInAudacity: Not quite to strangle-me-with-a-belt levels, but like Barba, she's willing to go there.
--> "What am I thinking right now? That I wish I’d had a second cup of coffee before court this morning? Or that Mr. Barba’s prosecution is so wrong, that he should be taken out and shot?"
[[/folder]]

!! FBI

[[folder:Agent Dana Lewis]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dana_lewis.png]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MarciaGayHarden

An FBIAgent introduced as an undercover neo-Nazi in Season 6.
----
* TheAtoner: [[spoiler: Much of her devotion to law enforcement is out of guilt for killing her romantic rival in a blind rage. When she can no longer hide from it, she goes quietly.]]
* BikerBabe: Benson and Stabler met her riding a Harley at one time.
* LoveMakesYouCrazy: [[spoiler: Killed her ex's fiancee when she got pregnant. Granted, said ex told Dana to get an abortion when she got pregnant and dumped her shortly thereafter...]]
* RapeAsDrama: [[spoiler: The episode "Penetration" revolves around her solving her own rape.]]
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: [[spoiler: The above was based on [[http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/11/justice/california-cop-cold-case/ a real-life murder]].]]
* RunningGag: Whenever Dana arrives, Elliot gets hurt: first time, Elliot got shot by a neo-Nazi; second time, he was knocked out by a bomb; third time, Dana actually hurts Elliot as a result of a bullet ricocheting and hitting him in the arm. [[spoiler:The only reason he wasn't hurt in her final appearance was because he was PutOnABus by then.]]
--> '''Elliot''': "[[LampshadeHanging She's not gonna be happy until she kills me.]]"
* UndercoverCopReveal: Was first introduced as a member of a neo-Nazi group named Star Morrison. Revealed herself to be an undercover fed during a courtroom shootout.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Agent Dean Porter]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dean_porter.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/VincentSpano

An FBIAgent originally assigned to be Olivia's handler during her undercover mission in Season 8.
----
* BadassLongcoat: He loves wearing one. His guest appearances are usually in Fall or Winter episodes, which probably explains it.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: He stands 6 feet tall.
* TookALevelInKindness: Introduced as Olivia's TallDarkAndSnarky handler, he eventually warms up to her.
[[/folder]]

!!DEA

[[folder:Agent Jack Hammond]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jackhammond.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MitchPileggi

[[/folder]]

!!Family Members

!!! Olivia's family

[[folder:Serena Benson]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/serenabenson.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Elizabeth Ashley

Olivia's estranged mother.
----
* AbusiveParents: Olivia doesn't have fond memories of her.
* TheAlcoholic: Olivia mentions how she was never seen without her bottles.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: She and Olivia are portrayed to have a healthy relationship in the {{Pilot}}.
* KilledOffscreen: Capt. Cragen just informs Olivia about her death.
* PresentAbsence: Only appeared in the {{Pilot}} and is KilledOffscreen the following season, but much of Olivia's hang-ups stemmed from her flawed parenting.
* RapeAsDrama: She was raped in TheSixties, and Olivia was conceived from that. [[spoiler: Later episodes, however, plays with the idea that she lied to her daughter before ultimately confirming that she was telling the truth.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Simon Marsden]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/simonmarsden2.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MichaelWeston

A notorious criminal and Olivia's paternal half-brother.
----
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: In a way, since his appearances usually result with Olivia getting put in a compromising situation.
* BackForTheDead: He shows up in Season 21 after disappearing after Season 13 (which itself was a reappearance after last appearing in the Season 8 finale) wanting to patch things up with Olivia, [[spoiler:but dies in the same episode from a drug overdose.]]
* DependingOnTheWriter: In his early appearances and in Season 13, he's a generally stable man who loves his family, and his major flaw is that he's impulsive and doesn't think things through (see NotHelpingYourCase). In his final appearance, he's a heroin addict.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: He can't get his shit together while Olivia is doing well at her career.
* IAmNotMyFather: He struggles with the revelation that his father was a SerialRapist.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:He dies of a drug overdose in Season 21.]]
* LongLostRelative: He's Olivia's paternal half-brother.
* NotHelpingYourCase: Many of Simon's initial problems (i.e. being framed for rape, having his kids taken away for weak reasons) aren't his fault, but he creates more problems when he responds to those by doing things that would get him into ''even more'' trouble. Highlights include taking the detective who tried to falsely pin a rape on him hostage and kidnapping his kids from foster care when the family court process was taking longer than they'd hoped.
[[/folder]]

!!! Elliot's family

[[folder:Kathy Stabler]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kathystablerpaternity.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Isabel Gillies

Elliot's wife.
----
* AndStarring: Her guest appearances starting Season 8 has her credited this way in the guest-stars lineup.
* ClingyJealousGirl: She later admits that she's been jealous a few times of some of Elliot's female colleagues.
* DivorceIsTemporary: She and Elliot split during Seasons 6-8.
* FamilyThemeNaming: With her second daughter '''Kath'''leen.
* HappilyMarried: Despite all their hardships, her and Elliot would do anything for each other.
* HereditaryHairstyle: All her daughters got her blonde hair.
* HighSchoolSweethearts: With Elliot, which resulted to her TeenPregnancy mentioned below.
* HospitalHottie: Works as a nurse and is not bad to look at.
* PutOnABus: Had no reason to appear on the show following Elliot's retirement after Season 12. [[note]]She and Dickie were slated to return in the Season 21 finale, but production for the last four episodes of the season was halted due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic[[/note]]
* SexWithTheEx: She and Elliot have occasional hookups during their separation. Their youngest child Eli was a product of one of these.
* SurprisePregnancy: Her and Elliot's youngest was conceived while they were separated and in their forties.
* TeenPregnancy: She and Elliot had their eldest daughter when they were 17.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Maureen Stabler]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maureenstabler.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ErinBroderick

Elliot's eldest child and daughter.
----
* TheBGrade Early seasons show her being disappointed for not getting As. At one time her father tells her to relax.
* DemotedToExtra: She was initially the most prominent of Elliot's children until Kathleen and Dickie (especially the former) surpassed her screen time.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first few seasons seems to be hinting towards her becoming a NerdsAreSexy type of character until Kathleen becomes the official MsFanservice of Elliot's daughters.
* FamilyThemeNaming: With her sister Kathl'''een'''.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: While Maureen still gives her parents some trouble, she's shown in her high school years to be generally a good kid who is serious about school (she's largely DemotedToExtra once she starts college). It's particularly striking in contrast to how Kathleen behaves when she reaches the same age.
* HarmfulToMinors: When Elliot rushed to a crime scene on their way home from a party during the Season 2 premiere, Maureen follows her father and witnessed the {{Gorn}} first hand.
* HeadTurningBeauty: The most conventionally beautiful among Elliot's children.
* HereditaryHairstyle: She and her sisters all got their blonde hair from their mother.
* LongBusTrip: She hasn't appeared since Season 8, four years before Elliot was PutOnABus, and had no reason to appear on the show following his retirement.
* MilitaryBrat: Kathy being pregnant with her is one of the reasons Elliot joined the USMC.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: Introduced in the second episode of the entire series along with her siblings.
* WeightWoe: One of the earliest episodes has her being weight conscious.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Kathleen Stabler]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kathleen_stabler.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Holiday Segal (Season 1) | Allison Siko (Season 3 onwards)

Elliot's second child and daughter.
----
* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Most of her appearance has her complaining or being a problem (major and minor) to either or both her parents (but mostly Elliot).
* DramaQueen: Her scenes mostly has her ''making'' a scene.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: She's played by a different actress in the first season, which also established her as a PassionateSportsGirl; this characteristic is entirely gone in later episodes.
* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Beautiful and the most liberated among Elliot's children with an active dating life to boot.
* FamilyThemeNaming: With her mother '''Kath'''y and sister Mau'''een'''.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: It's particularly noteworthy in contrast to bookworm Maureen, but Kathleen is by far the most troubled of the Stabler siblings; she gets caught drunk driving, steals Elliot's credit card, and ultimately ends up facing burglary charges. She gets better once she gets properly diagnosed and treated for her bipolar disorder.
* HereditaryHairstyle: She and her sisters all got their blonde hair from their mother.
* LineageComesFromTheFather: She got her bipolar disorder from her paternal grandmother.
* MilitaryBrat: Elliot was still enlisted in the Marines when she was born and didn't officially retire until a year or two later.
* MsFanservice: She's conventionally beautiful and mostly wears clothes that highlights her figure.
* PutOnABus: Had no reason to appear on the show following Elliot's retirement after Season 12.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: Introduced in the second episode of the entire series along with her siblings.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: She got the most screentime out of Elliot's children.
* TookALevelInJerkass: In her mid-to-late teens, she exhibits more and more reckless behavior, which ends up affecting her relationship with her father. Justified in that she turns out to have bipolar disorder, which often doesn't manifest until after puberty.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dickie Stabler]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dickie_stabler_3.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Jeffrey Scaperrotta

Elliot's third child along with Dickie's twin sister, Elizabeth, and his eldest son.
----
* EmbarrassingNickname: Preferred to be called Richard in front of his friends.
* HalfIdenticalTwins: His twin is a female, Elizabeth.
* HereditaryHairstyle: He's the only one of Elliot's children who got his brown hair.
* LongBusTrip: He hasn't appeared since Season 11, just a year before Elliot was PutOnABus, and had no reason to appear on the show following his retirement. [[note]]He and his mother were slated to return in the Season 21 finale, but production for the last four episodes of the season was halted due to the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic[[/note]]
* OddNameOut: He's the only Stabler who doesn't follow a particular FamilyThemeNaming.
* OutgrowingTheChildishName: He claims that he never wants to be called Dickie anymore.
* OutnumberedSibling: He was Elliot's only son until Elliot, Jr. was born during Season 9.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: Introduced in the second episode of the entire series along with his siblings.
* ThemeTwinNaming: He and his twin sister Elizabeth have the same first names as an iconic [[Creator/RichardBurton Hollywood]] [[Creator/ElizabethTaylor couple]].
* TookALevelInJerkass: Grows into this as a teenager, and has little to no excuse for it - he's callous towards a rape victim that he personally knows, and later throws the fact that bipolar disorder (that his own sister suffers from!) runs in the family in Elliot’s face.
--> ''Elliot'': Have you lost your mind?
--> ''Dickie'': Well I’m not the first Stabler to do so, am I?
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Elizabeth Stabler]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elizabethstabler.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Patricia Cook

Elliot's third child along with her twin brother, Dickie, and his youngest daughter.
----
* FamilyThemeNaming: With her father '''Elli'''ot and brother Elliot Jr.
* HalfIdenticalTwins: Her twin is a male, Dickie.
* HereditaryHairstyle: She and her sisters all got their blonde hair from their mother.
* LongBusTrip: She hasn't appeared since Season 8, four years before Elliot was PutOnABus, and had no reason to appear on the show following his retirement.
* LustObject: Elliot finds her (fully decent, but still) picture in the possession of a pedophile during Season 10. [[PapaWolf Elliot being Elliot]], [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown it's easy to guess what happened to the perp.]]
* {{Meganekko}}: She's wearing specs.
* OutOfFocus: She's the least focused on among Elliot's children.
* SecondEpisodeIntroduction: Introduced in the second episode of the entire series along with her siblings.
* ThemeTwinNaming: She and her twin brother Dickie have the same first names as an iconic [[Creator/ElizabethTaylor Hollywood]] [[Creator/RichardBurton couple]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Elliot "Eli" Stabler, Jr.]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/elliotstablerjr.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' N/A

Elliot's youngest child and son.
----
* BabiesMakeEverythingBetter: His arrival secures Elliot and Kathy's reconciliation.
* TheBabyOfTheBunch: He's the youngest of Elliot's children, and was literally introduced in his birth.
* FamilyThemeNaming: With his father '''Elli'''ot and sister '''El'''izabeth.
* OneSteveLimit: Named after his father, he is nicknamed Eli to differentiate them.
* PutOnABus: Had no reason to appear on the show following Elliot's retirement after Season 12.
[[/folder]]

!!! Fin's family

[[folder:Ken Randall]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kenrandall.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/ErnestWaddell

Fin's son.
----
* EmbarrassingFirstName: Fin’s emergency contact lists Ken’s name as Kwasi Tutuola and in his first appearance, Ken notes that the only person to ever call him that was his father; otherwise, he goes by Ken Randall. (Even Fin takes to calling him Ken as they rebuild their relationship.)
* MeaningfulName: His actual name is Kwasi Tutuola. Kwasi is meant to sound like the stem quasi, which means "having some resemblance." He has a rather strained relationship with Fin, although they gradually patch things up.
* NiceGuy: He's a decent person overall.
* NomDeMom: He uses his mother's maiden name as his relationship with Fin was strained for a long time.
* StraightGay: He's gay, but he doesn't display any of the stereotypical CampGay characteristics.
* TwoFirstNames: "Ken" and "Randall".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Teresa Randall]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/teresarandall.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' |
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/LisaGayHamilton

Fin's ex-wife.
----
* BrokenBird: It’s implied Teresa can’t bring herself to form lasting connections because of her rape by her own father. The fact that she was forced to admit the truth of Darius’ birth before her ex-husband, sons, and everyone else in court after keeping it to herself for so long certainly didn’t help matters, and it’s far too late to do anything about the crime.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: She had a ChildByRape born from ParentalIncest. There's also her and Fin's messy divorce.
* DarkSecret: Her father raped her. Darius was born from it.
* JerkJustifications: Her ParentalNeglect and subsequent harsh treatment of Darius is due to him being her ChildByRape. (She wanted to give him up for adoption so she wouldn't have to be around him, but her mother wouldn't let her.)
* RapeAsDrama: She's a victim of ParentalIncest.
* TwoFirstNames: "Teresa" and "Randall".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Darius Parker]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dariusparker.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Music/{{Ludacris}}

A notorious criminal and Ken's older [[TangledFamilyTree half-brother and uncle]].
----
* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:He gets away with brutally stabbing to death a mother and burying her infant alive]].
* BastardBastard: [[spoiler:He is the product of ParentalIncest, born after his grandfather raped his mother.]]
* BigScrewedUpFamily: [[spoiler:He is biologically the result of his grandfather raping his mother and his mother may have physically/verbally/emotionally abused him as a result of his origins]].
* [[CallingTheOldManOut Calling the Old Lady Out]]: In court, for not being able to bear raising him.
* ChildByRape: His mother was repeatedly raped by his grandfather.
* DisappointingOlderSibling: Ken tries to be understanding at first, but Darius' inability to change his ways ultimately drove Ken away.
* FreudianExcuse: As a ChildByRape, his mother couldn't stand him, but her own mother refused to let her give him up for adoption, and he grew up being hated by her. It's questionable, though, since he only found out the truth a few years before his first appearance, and according to Fin, he's been a problem for longer than that.
* JerkAss: Has zero remorse for what he's done and uses every loophole and corrupt cop and politician he can get his hands on to get away with his crimes.
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:He gets away with his crime on top of ruining Fin, Liv, and Elliot's reputations as officers, with little consequence except for the fact that the one family member that may have loved him no longer wants anything to do with him]].
* PyrrhicVictory: Got away with murdering both a woman and her infant son, humiliated his rape victim mother in court, and permanently soiled the records of the SVU detectives. However, doing so cost Darius the love of Fin's son Ken (who was also Darius' half brother and the only family member who cared about him) and now knows that he'll live the rest of his life in fear, looking over his shoulder for Fin.
* RaisedByGrandparents: [[spoiler:Because he was the result of an incestuous rape, his mother couldn't bear to raise him and gave him away to his grandmother.]]
* StrongFamilyResemblance: [[spoiler:A deconstruction. He was the product of his grandfather raping his mother, and when he was born, he looked so much like his grandfather that his mother couldn't stand to look at him and let him be raised by his grandmother.]]
* TangledFamilyTree. [[spoiler:Due to how he was conceived, his maternal grandfather is also his father, his sister is also his mother, and his maternal half-brother is also his nephew.]]
* TheUnfavorite: Because of his origins.
[[/folder]]

!!! Amanda's family

[[folder:Kim Rollins]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kimrollins.JPG]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/LindsayPulsipher

Amanda Rollins' lecherous younger sister.
----
* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: She's dedicated to her abusive boyfriend, Jeff. [[spoiler:At least until she has him killed.]]
* AnnoyingYoungerSibling: And for good reason. She causes problems for Amanda all their lives.
* BitchInSheepsClothing: How she manipulates her older sister.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: She [[spoiler:sets up her boyfriend to be killed and then frames her sister for it.]]
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Generally the Foolish to Amanda’s Responsible, but it's unknown as with her recent reappearance. She was taking drugs again in her latest episode...to treat for bipolar disorder. She claims that all of the symptoms she had went away with the pills she began taking. While she also laments missing the manic symptoms, she also feels relieved to be more responsible for herself now. Time will tell if it's a sucker play or if she's starting to redeem herself.
* GenreBlindness: Her attempt to seduce GuileHero Amaro and wring some sympathy out of him, after [[spoiler:spectacularly stabbing Amanda in the back]], works out for her about as well as you would think.
* HateSink: She's very ungrateful to Amanda, is irresponsible to the point of being a burden to her family, and [[NeverMyFault never owns up to her mistakes]].
* HereditaryHairstyle: She and her sister got their blonde hair from their mother.
* LeeroyJenkins: She has seemingly no impulse control whatsoever, doing and saying whatever she wants, whenever she wants, not caring about the consequences that will result or the effects her actions have on others, even her sister. Her appearance in Season 18 suggests that this could possibly be due to a case of bipolar disorder.
* TheLoad: Whenever she shows up, Amanda and the rest of the team get sucked into whatever drama she has going on at the moment.
* ManipulativeBitch: Kim tries to frame Amanda for murder, but is out-manipulated by Amaro. When she's finally caught, she's seen manipulating her lawyer, who is so enamored with her that she thinks that he's going to propose once she's out of jail.
* NeverMyFault: Kim never owns up to her mistakes and instead keeps finding excuses for it.
* TheResenter: Claims ''she'' was the one who wanted to be a cop, but Amanda "took" that from her.
* SmugSnake: When she has an arrest warrant out in her name for [[spoiler:the murder of her ex-boyfriend]] and Amanda is about to take her down to the precinct, she just walks away smiling and laughing, asking Amanda if she's going to arrest a member of her own family in public.
* ThickerThanWater: Averted, as she has '''no''' qualms about throwing Amanda under the bus for her own selfish gain. Later, she tries to [[EntitledBastard invoke it herself]] by claiming that Amanda wouldn't arrest her even when she has a warrant out on her, because they're family.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Unbelievable, considering she was already an ungrateful jerk in her first appearance, but she manages it when she returns in "Deadly Ambition."
* UngratefulBastard: Repays Amanda's care by screwing her over.
* VillainousCheekbones: She has a fairly prominent pair, made more obvious by the fact that she's [[LeanAndMean extremely thin and bony.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Beth Anne Rollins]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bethannerollins.JPG]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/VirginiaMadsen

Amanda and Kim's mother.
----
* AbusiveParents: She's emotionally abusive towards Amanda.
* HereditaryHairstyle: Her two daughters and her granddaughter got her blonde hair.
* MamaDidntRaiseNoCriminal: She repeatedly shrugs off Kim's fuck-ups, even ranting on Amanda for not helping her sister.
* ParentalFavoritism: Clearly favors Kim over Amanda.
* SilverVixen: She looks great despite having two adult daughters in their thirties. Being played by 80s/90s sex symbol Creator/VirginiaMadsen certainly helps.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Jesse Rollins]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jesserollins.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Charlotte and Vivian Cabell

Amanda's daughter with Lt. Declan Murphy.
----
* ButNotTooForeign: She is half-Irish from her father's side.
* HereditaryHairstyle: Members of her maternal family are all blondes just like her.
* HeroicBastard: Her parents are not married.
* NomDeMom: She uses her mother's surname due to her parents not being married.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Billie Rollins]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' N/A

Amanda's daughter with Dr. Al Pollack.
----
* HeroicBastard: Her parents are not married.
* NomDeMom: She uses her mother's surname due to her parents not being married.
[[/folder]]

!!! Nick's family

[[folder:Maria Grazie]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/law_order_svu_valentines_day_danny_pino_laura_benanti_1024x574.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/LauraBenanti

Nick's (eventual ex) wife and a member of the U.S. Army.
----
* ActionMom: Mother to Zara and stepmother to Gilberto and a member of the U.S. Army.
* AloofDarkHairedGirl: She has a very rigid demeanor.
* GoodLookingPrivates: A character who is a member of the U.S. Army that is played by the sultry Laura Benanti.
* LongDistanceRelationship: She's stationed in Iraq while Nick is in New York. This is part of the reason for their eventual split.
* MistakenForCheating: Nick sees her with a male therapist, assumes the worse, and ultimately attacks the man. This marks the beginning of their marriage's disintegration.
* StatuesqueStunner: A beautiful woman (as Nick rightfully points out) standing 5'8.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Zara Amaro]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/zaraamaro2.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Alison Fernandez

Nick's daughter.
----
* TwoFirstNames: "Zara" and "Amaro".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cesaria Amaro]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cesariaamaro.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Nancy Ticotin

Nick's mother.
----
* DomesticAbuse: Her husband used to beat her up.
* DotingGrandparent: She loves Zara dearly.
* TwoFirstNames: "Cesaria" and "Amaro".
[[/folder]]

!!Other Characters

[[folder:Sister Peg]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sister_peg.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/CharlayneWoodard

A Catholic nun who lived and worked in New York City. Most of her work involves helping and protecting prostitutes. As such, she sometimes comes into contact with Manhattan SVU Detectives Elliot Stabler and Olivia Benson.
----
* BackForTheDead: After last appearing in Season 8, she returns to the show in the Season 12 finale, only to be killed-off by the VictimOfTheWeek who snaps and started shooting.
* BeingGoodSucks: In episodes where the VictimOfTheWeek is a prostitute, their pissed as fuck pimps usually try to get them back and beat up Peg for getting in their way.
* BerserkButton: SlutShaming and having the DisposableSexWorker mentality.
* BlackBossLady: She runs a shelter for homeless people and sex workers who want to start over.
* ButtMonkey: The sex workers or homeless people she helps on-screen oftentimes bring nothing but bad news, at times even getting Sister Peg hurt for her troubles.
* CommutingOnABus: She's a notable RecurringCharacter since the third season, but has missed the entirety of Seasons 7, 9, 10, and 11.
* DeadpanSnarker: She's very witty and and very, very snarky.
* DressCode: Averted. Despite being a nun, she's never once seen wearing a religious habit.
* IconicSequelCharacter: Does not appear in the show until Season 3.
* KilledOffForReal: At the end of Season 12.
* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: After years as a recurring character helping SVU detectives with various cases, and despite the potentially threatening people she connected to on a daily basis, she ends up an offhand casualty of a young woman that went trigger happy in the 16th precinct with the intention of killing the three men that had a hand in her mother’s murder.
* NunsAreFunny: She's oftentimes the source of [[DeadpanSnarker witty and snarky dialogues]].
* SacrificialLion: Her death coincided with Stabler, Warner, and Huang's departures, indicating an EndOfAnAge for the show.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Reverend Curtis]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/curtisscott.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/LeslieOdomJr

A reverend who acts as a representative of the lower class of the population.

* GreyAndGreyMorality: He’s a crusader for those he sees as the less fortunate, and will call out anyone that he sees getting in the way of his agenda to right the system’s wrongs. He’s also apparently okay with a mayoral candidate soliciting photos from a teenage girl if that mayor works for similar ideals.
* OpportunisticBastard: Expect him to be at the forefront of any case that involves social class differences.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To the character of Sister Peg in that he works for the people he sees as victims, but different from her in that he's not even half as helpful to the detectives as she was and is a lot more critical if the detectives or the ADAs draw attention away from the social aspect of cases.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: He’s right that sometimes the law isn’t very fair in its dealings to the people. But he will slander anyone that crosses his path, including the SVU detectives (even if they feel similarly to him anyway).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:William Lewis]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/williamlewis.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Played by Creator/PabloSchreiber

* AxCrazy
* ArchNemesis: To Benson.
* ArcVillain: In season 15.
* BullyingADragon: Played straight once, and then subverted the next time. His kidnapping and torture of a trained police officer like Benson wasn't the brightest idea (especially for as smart as he is) when all she needed was one small opening to restrain him. The second time Lewis and Benson had a violent confrontation, however, she was completely at his mercy, and she would have been murdered by him had he not shot himself as one last torture he could inflict on her (by making her look like she'd shot him in cold blood).
* ColdBloodedTorture: Has a penchant for tying up his victims, heating up keys and branding victims, and burning them with cigarettes in addition to the usual rape and sodomy.
* DiabolusExNihilo:
** His character made a point of frequently changing his alias as he traveled across the country to evade police (either by switching his first and last names or altering their spelling)and when the SVU squad first holds him for questioning, he is reluctant to tell them when and where he was born and makes up a bunch of lies instead. Despite the fact that his character is the main focus for at least 4 episodes, Lewis' life before he dedicated his life to being a criminal is never discovered; probably because by the time NYPD realized just who and what they were dealing with, his origins were no longer a priority.
*** In the Season 15 premiere, he actually tells a very disturbing story from his childhood which he implies was the root of him becoming a heartless, criminal.[[spoiler: he watched his father beat and rape his babysitter right in front of him.]]
* EvilGloating: Lewis thoroughly enjoys doing this, particularly to scare/piss off Benson. He is so twisted that [[spoiler: he was willing to testify in open court that he raped and sodomized Benson after he kidnapped her, even though he did no such thing and clearly just wanted to see her humiliated in front of her peers.]]
* EvilIsBigger: The fact that William Lewis towers over all the other characters is pretty hard to miss.
* FaceOfAnAngelMindOfADemon: The fact that he was a violent psychopath who enjoyed causing others pain and suffering seemed to be his only unattractive trait. Lewis often used his charming good looks to help trick women into seeing him as just an innocent, misunderstood creature rather than the reincarnation of pure evil itself (whenever he does manage to lawyer up, said lawyer is ALWAYS female).
* FauxAffablyEvil: One of the most disturbing traits about him is that he is not a stereotypical criminal; Lewis is charming, handsome, intelligent and articulate and he knows it, which is why he uses these traits to his advantage when he goes on his crime sprees and it is also how he manages to escape trial and conviction multiple times.
* AFoolForAClient
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Pretty much how his character progresses from when he is first introduced until his ultimate death.
* HasAType: Various people have pointed out that Lewis seemed to have a thing for redheads (or vice versa). Zigzagged when it's shown that his sexual sadism has no specific "type."
* HeManWomanHater: Slightly zigzagged. He mostly victimizes women, as his main goal is to traumatize them long enough to cause permanent lifelong damage. However he was shown having no problem with killing men in cold blood (either because they were in his way or he simply felt like it). One could argue that killing a person quickly is more humane than torturing someone for hours (or days) at a time until they are begging for death as a means of escaping their agony.
** In addition to his sadistic mode of choice in committing crimes, he also took a particular delight in antagonizing Rollins (some) and Benson (''severely'').
* InvincibleVillain: He appears to be this for a while due to him cheating death more than once.
* KickTheDog: Like it's his job! He (basically) admits in one episode that this is pretty much his whole purpose for living, and makes no apologies for it.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: Who wasn't cheering when Olivia beat him within an inch of his life?
* TheMentallyDisturbed: Zig-zagged a bit. Lewis is fully aware of all of the horrible things he does (to others and himself) but rather than remorse and empathy, he gains mental and physical enjoyment and even arousal from causing himself and others pain and suffering. There's a scene in the episode "Surrender Benson" where the detectives discover that Lewis killed the father of his lawyer/girlfriend, and not only raped and tortured the mother, but forced Olivia to watch the entire ordeal. In the very next scene, Lewis is shown casually driving a stolen car while cheerfully singing along to the show-tune song playing on the radio as if the previous events never even happened.
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: His nickname is "The Beast!"
* NotQuiteDead: [[spoiler: Olivia Benson (seemingly) beats him to death with a metal bedpost while he is handcuffed to a bed. It is later discovered that he not only survived, but died and came back to life no less than 4 times on his way to the hospital; the beating however does leave Lewis with permanent physical damage; he ends up being deaf in his left ear and partially blind in his left eye. Later on he suffers a seizure due to an overdose of a prescription drug and appears to be dying but survives that as well. In an even more bizarre twist, the medical doctors who were treating him cannot figure out how or why this occurred, stating that according to their findings, "He should still be dead."]] In the end he meets his demise by [[spoiler: taking his own life: a single gunshot to the skull.]]
* NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction: He decides not to rape Benson because she isn't fighting him, and thus he no longer enjoys it. Possibly invoked intentionally by her.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: He's initially picked up for flashing and seems like a garden variety perv, until he's not.
* ObfuscatingInsanity: Things like burning his fingertips seem AxCrazy at first, but he very coldly uses them to his advantage.
** More often than not, averted for this character. William Lewis is a bona fide violent psychopath, is frequently impulsive with his actions, shows very little remorse for his actions and lacks empathy for others. If anything any time he exhibited "normal" behavior, it was usually a front used to mask his true mentality and intentions.
* OffstageVillainy: In the Season 15 premiere episode "Surrender Benson", while it is clear that Lewis has tortured and violated Olivia physically, much of his abuse isn't seen on-screen and much about her ordeal is left up to the imagination of the audience. For example the episode begins with Olivia slowly regaining consciousness (she's gagged, bound to a chair and lying on the floor). Moments later the audience can clearly see an ashtray laying near her head, filled with cigarette butts, her face is also swollen and bruised. It can only be implied what Lewis did to her before the start of the episode.
** Also in the scene at the beach house, after Lewis tosses (a still bound and gagged) Olivia onto the bed, she gestures to him that she needs to use the toilet. After watching her struggle for a moment to stand up on her own, he helps her up and they appear to start to make their way to the bathroom down the hall but that's where the scene ends. Again, the audience has to paint a picture for themselves what happens after that (no doubt something humiliating and degrading on Olivia's part).
* OneSteveLimit: Averted. He's no relation to Dana Lewis, above ([[EpilepticTrees or is he?]])
** For the record, SVU has a habit of repeatedly recycling the last names of characters throughout the run of the series, despite the fact that these characters are clearly not related in any way. It's usually portrayed as just being a "coincidence".
* PersonAsVerb: After Lewis' death, Olivia uses his name as a code phrase when she needs to discreetly warn her squad that she's in danger.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: From teenaged girls (and possibly younger) to elderly women, this character is a prime example of this trope.
* {{Sadist}}: When Olivia goes limp after agreeing to let him rape her instead of his young hostage, Lewis gets bored and moves on to something else, because he gets off on the struggle.
* SerialRapist: A very sickening example of one, and also a ''serial kidnapper''.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Oh, very much. He only appeared in a handful of episodes, yet he had an extreme impact on Benson's mental well-being. Seasons later, Benson still recalls his torture of her as one of the most traumatic experiences of her life.
* TheSociopath:
* SoftSpokenSadist: Lewis tended to speak in a soft, sweet tone when threatening/torturing his victims, which made him all the more frightening.
** Except in the episode "Psycho/Therapist" when he was cross-examining/humiliating Olivia Benson when she had to testify against him in court; watching this seemingly always stoic psychopath suddenly fly into a raging fit is possibly more terrifying than when he used his light and breathy tone.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Lewis gives one of these to Olivia Benson and it nearly costs him his life.
* VillainsNeverLie: One of the cruel ironies about his screwed up personality; Lewis tended to only lie when trying to plead his "innocence" front of the police, in front of his attorney or in open court. However whenever he was already engaging in illegal activity, he rarely lied or bluffed, even calling himself "a man of his word", especially if you happen to be his next potential victim. Basically if he said he was going to do something to you (or to someone else), it was pretty much a done deal. Sadly, there was virtually NO limit to the things that he did.
** He tended not to lie to Olivia when it was just the two of them alone. For example [[spoiler: when Lewis is driving a stolen car with Liv laying bound and gagged in the backseat and the car gets pulled over by a cop. Lewis tells Liv that if the cop notices that anything is amiss, he will kill him ("One move and he's dead.") Unfortunately the young male cop does begin to get suspicious of Lewis' behavior but just as he's barely beginning to question Lewis about what's in the back seat, he briefly stuns the cop by punching him in the face, takes the cops gun, then shoots him in the head point-blank.]]
* WouldHitAGirl: Lewis' main reason for existing seemed to be for the purpose of sexually humiliating women. Even worse, he made no exceptions when it came to the age of his victims; from women in their 60's to a girl in her mid-teens.
* WouldHurtAChild:
** Lewis didn't seem to have anything against assaulting pre-pubescent girls as well. In the episode "Surrender Benson" when Lewis [[spoiler: is just a few seconds away from removing Olivia's pants in order to rape her]] he is interrupted by the unannounced arrival of the cleaning woman knocking on the front door. He answers the door, apparently intent on getting rid of the cleaning woman and doesn't seem very interested in her until he notices that she's brought her 5-year-old daughter along, which seems to suddenly spark his interest and he immediately ushers both mother and daughter inside the house. He later comments that the 5-year-old girl (named 'Luisa') is "a cutie" in a tone that is far from innocent.
** In "Beast's Obsession", Lewis kidnaps a 12-year-old girl, and makes several sickening comments about her being on the cusp of puberty (just on the verge of becoming a woman but still physically resembling a child). He makes possibly the most revolting comment when talking to Olivia Benson about the young girl, stating quite bluntly that he's "going to be her first" (a statement that pretty much speaks for itself). [[spoiler: moments after leading a handcuffed Olivia to where the young, frightened girl is tied up by her arms, he gives Olivia an ultimatum: to either let herself be raped by Lewis and force the girl to watch, or she can choose to let him rape the girl first while Olivia watches instead. He makes it clear that he is fine either way.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Greg Yates]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/greg_yates.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Other Appearances:''' ''Series/ChicagoPD''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/DallasRoberts

* BookEnds: His first and final episodes are both set in ''Series/ChicagoPD''.
* BoomHeadshot: How he dispatches some victims [[spoiler: following his escape. This is later how he dies.]]
* CallingCard: Paints his victims' fingernails with green nail polish. [[spoiler: Following his escape from prison,]] he leaves behind a taunting letter for the police to find.
* CharacterTics: Has an eerie habit of slowly rolling his head every time he's relishing in his crimes. This is what tips the SVU off to his weakness.
* ConsultingAConvictedKiller: The SVU detectives interrogate him when Carl Rudnick kills a woman and tries to pin it on him.
* {{Expy}}: Of William Lewis. Both are terrifyingly psychopathic serial rapists/killers who were active all over the country for a number of years, became particularly fixated on the lead female detectives of the featured police units, embarked on a killing spree after realizing they were the prime suspects of said unit's investigations, kidnapped a member of said unit during this killing spree ([[spoiler:though Benson escaped whereas Yates's victim, Nadia Decotis, was not so lucky]]), eventually got captured, represented themselves at their trials, and got convicted. [[spoiler: This is pushed a little further in "Nationwide Manhunt", when Yates, like Lewis, escapes from prison (with help from ''the same person'', no less), embarks on another killing spree, and finally dies after a standoff with the objects of their obsession.]] A Twitter account went as far as to list all of the instances where certain lines in Yates's dialogue are similar or even identical to Lewis's (there are ''many'').
* FauxAffablyEvil: He charms his victims with his politeness as a way to lower their guard and lure them in.
* HasAType: Primarily targets young brunette women who remind him of his mother.
* IntercontinuityCrossover: With Series/ChicagoPD
* InterplayOfSexAndViolence: As a sexual sadist, he not only enjoys raping and murdering his victims, he is aroused by the description of such acts. This turns out to be his downfall, in addition to creeping out everyone in the courtroom.
* ItsAllAboutMe: His stressor for killing was being abandoned by his mother as a child, even though she and his father were forced to give him away because of his already-alarming psychopathic tendencies, and the fact that they had a baby girl on the way and they wanted to keep her safe.
* MoralityPet: His fiancée Susie Frain is this to him. Despite her matching his victim preference to a T, he has never harmed her once during the 20 years they've been together. [[spoiler: When Carl Rudnick kills Susie, Yates is legitimately ''dismayed'' by this, especially after finding out Susie was pregnant.]]
* {{Revenge}}: [[spoiler: First enacted it on Rudnick for killing his fiancée, torturing him and leaving him for dead. Then, he tried to carry it out against his sister following his escape, but when that failed, he went after his father. He is more successful in that regard.]]
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: His life and crimes are technically a fictionalized biography of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy Ted Bundy]]. Barba even lampshades this in "Nationwide Manhunt". [[spoiler: His and Rudnick's prison escape is also clearly based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Clinton_Correctional_Facility_escape one at Clinton Correctional Facility in 2015]].]]
* {{Sadist}}: An accurate description of Yates.
* SerialKiller: Of brunette women. [[spoiler: After his prison escape,]] he's willing to go after other people as well.
* SoftSpokenSadist: Speaks in a soft, convincingly friendly tone while charming his victims. Downplayed whenever he speaks to the detectives, where his tone takes on a robotic flatness. Defied during his trial in "Daydream Believer", when he starts ''shouting'' at Melinda Warner, demanding her to thoroughly describe, in ''court'', the horrifying, agonizing way one of his victims died.
* ThatOneCase: For Chicago detective Erin Lindsay, [[spoiler: because he murdered her best friend Nadia Decotis.]]
* YouAllMeetInACell: Inverted. Yates and Rudnick knew each other in medical school. After he was convicted, Yates assisted the SVU team in putting away Rudnick. Then, they connected in jail and [[spoiler: masterminded an escape]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Carl Rudnick]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rudnick4.png]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Jefferson Mays

* CreepyCrossdresser: After he murders his Swedish girlfriend, he dresses as a woman to reenter the U.S. He continues this cross-dressing during the course of his future crimes.
* DisguisedInDrag: Cross-dresses every time he needs to evade authorities.
* HasAType: Seems to have a thing for redheads, since they resemble his girlfriend. It's also apparently because of their higher susceptibility to pain.
* MadDoctor: A former Medical Examiner, who enjoys carving people up and talks to himself.
* RecurringCharacter: Appears in six episodes (seven, if you would consider the fact that one episode is a two-hour, two-part special), but it's only in his fifth episode where his true nature is revealed.
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: His case is clearly based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Durst Robert Durst]], all the way down to [[spoiler: his confession.]] Barba even lampshades this in "Nationwide Manhunt". [[spoiler: His and Yates's prison escape is also clearly based on [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Clinton_Correctional_Facility_escape one at Clinton Correctional Facility in 2015]], while the way he is found and arrested is definitely reminiscent of the capture of terrorist [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzhokhar_Tsarnaev Dzhokhar Tsarnaev]].]]
* SerialKiller: Of redheaded women.
* SuddenSequelHeelSyndrome: His appearances in season 16 portray him as a professional, if not a little awkward, medical examiner who assists the SVU with his autopsies and during trial. In the premiere of season 17, on the other hand...
* WickedCultured: He comes from a wealthy family, and speaks in a proper, formal manner. He's also mentioned to be a fan of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomaso_Albinoni Tomaso Albinoni]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bronwyn Freed Wilkins]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bronwyn_freed_wilkins.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Sarah Bisman

* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: And how. She could be the poster child for hybristophilia. After serving as a juror during William Lewis' trial, she [[spoiler: helps him break out of prison]], then she's one of those watching Rudnick's trial. After Rudnick is convicted, [[spoiler: she helps him and Yates escape from prison]].
* BoundAndGagged: How the team finds her. ''Still'' defending her friends.
* ChekhovsGunman: Appears in the background a few times before her role is revealed.
* JailBake: A goodie basket and a lasagna lunch.
* MeaningfulName: Bronwyn ''Freed''.
* RippedFromTheHeadlines: Her character seems to be inspired by [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gillian_Guess Gillian Guess]]. [[spoiler: Later, her participation in Yates and Rudnick's escape from prison becomes similar to the main accomplice in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Clinton_Correctional_Facility_escape 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape]].]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Rob Miller]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/robmiller2.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/TitusWelliver

* AmoralAttorney: He raped fellow lawyer Nikki Staines.
* ArcVillain: For Season 20.
* BeardOfEvil: He's sporting a thick beard and is a rapist.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Bart Ganzel]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bartganzel.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrder'' | ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/PeterJacobson

* PutOnABusToHell: Sent to prison for life for prostitution, murdering a prostitute and trying to frame Cragen for it, and attempting to kill Cragen and Cassidy. He deserves it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Dr. Cap Jackson]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/capjackson.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JeremyIrons

A psychiatrist who specializes in treating sex addiction.

* AdultFear: Lived most of his life believing he raped his daughter when she was a teenager. He actually slept with her best friend (it was fully consensual), and the reason his daughter resented him after that incident is because she was in love with said best friend.
* AerithAndBob: Cap is a very unconventional name.
* AlcoholInducedIdiocy: Consuming too much alcohol led him to believe that he molested his own daughter. He actually didn't, but his relationship with her is damaged nonetheless since the one he actually slept with was his daughter's best friend who she was in-love with.
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: For the longest time, he believed he slept with his daughter due to the AlcoholInducedIdiocy mentioned above. TheReveal about what really happened and the circumstances behind it didn't lessen his guilt.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: His daughter ultimately succumbs to the injuries she received.
* ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem: Doubles as ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight He disregards the rules of his own therapy sessions to allow Elliot to catch the perp who assaulted several women including Cap's daughter.
* StacysMom: His daughter's best friend was attracted to him, and she consented on him making a move on her when he was drunk.
* TheShrink: He specializes on treating sex addiction.
* TemporarySubstitute: Subs for Huang after his unofficial departure.
[[/folder]]

* CharacterTic: He has a tendency to squint slightly when troubled, or when he's lying, [[LampshadeHanging something his mother catches on to very quickly.]]

!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrder'' | | ''Exiled: A Law & Order Movie'' | ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''

!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Peter Jacobson

->'''Played By''': Creator/MariskaHargitay

->'''Played By''': Music/IceT

->'''Played By''': Creator/KelliGiddish

->'''Played By''': Creator/PeterScanavino

->'''Played By''': Creator/JamieGrayHyder

-> '''Played By:''' Creator/DemoreBarnes

->'''Played By''': Creator/DannFlorek

->'''Played By''': Creator/RichardBelzer

->'''Played By''': Creator/ChristopherMeloni

->'''Played By''': Creator/MichelleHurd

->'''Played By''': Creator/StephanieMarch

->'''Played By''': Creator/TamaraTunie

->'''Played By''': Creator/BDWong

->'''Played By''': Creator/DianeNeal

->'''Played By''': Creator/AdamBeach

->'''Played By''': Michaela [=McManus=]

->'''Played By''': Creator/DannyPino

->'''Played By''': Creator/RaulEsparza

->'''Played By''': Creator/PhilipWinchester

->''' Played By''': Creator/RobertJohnBurke

->'''Played By''': Creator/AdamBaldwin

->''' Played By''': Creator/DonalLogue

->'''Played By''': Creator/AndyKarl

->'''Played By''': Creator/DeanWinters

->'''Played By''': Creator/ConnieNielsen

->''' Played By''': Creator/WentworthMiller

->'''Played By''': Creator/NaveenAndrews

-> '''Played By''': Creator/PeterGallagher

-> '''Played By:''' Creator/NicholasTurturro

-> '''Played By''': Creator/ScottWilliamWinters

-> '''Played By''': Creator/DashiellEaves

-> '''Played By:''' Josh Pais

-> '''Played By''': Creator/ErikPalladino

-> '''Played By''': Creator/KirkAcevedo

->'''Played By''': Mary Stuart Masterson

->'''Played By''': Daniel Sunjata

->'''Played By''': Mike Doyle

->'''Played By''': Creator/NoelFisher

->'''Played By''': Creator/JoelDeLaFuente

->'''Played By''': Creator/LanceReddick

->'''Played By''': Joanna Merlin

->'''Played By''': Judith Light

->'''Played By''': Creator/JohnCullum

->'''Played By''': Creator/ReikoAylesworth

->'''Played By''': Creator/ChristineLahti

->'''Played By''': Creator/SharonStone

->'''Played By''': Creator/MelissaSagemiller

->'''Played By''': Ned Eisenberg

->'''Played By''': Peter Hermann

->'''Played By''': Creator/CCHPounder

->'''Played By''': Creator/ViolaDavis

->'''Played By''': Creator/BarryBostwick

->'''Played By''': David Thornton

->'''Played By''': Beverly D'Angelo

->'''Played By''': Creator/CallieThorne

->'''Played By''': Creator/GlenneHeadly

->'''Played By''': Creator/StevenWeber

->'''Played By''': Creator/AlexKingston

->'''Played By''': Creator/JeriRyan

->'''Played By''': Creator/DelaneyWilliams

->'''Played By''': Creator/FrancieSwift

->'''Played By''': Creator/AndreBraugher

->'''Played By''': Creator/RegECathey

->'''Played By''': Creator/ElizabethMarvel

->'''Played By''': Creator/NiaVardalos

-> Played by Creator/MarciaGayHarden

->'''Played By''': Creator/VincentSpano

-> '''Played By''': Creator/MitchPileggi

--> Played by Elizabeth Ashley

--> Played by Creator/MichaelWeston

--> Played by Isabel Gillies

--> Played by Creator/ErinBroderick

--> Played by Holiday Segal (Season 1), Allison Siko (Season 3 onwards)

--> Played by Jeffrey Scaperrotta

--> Played by Patricia Cook

--> Played by Creator/ErnestWaddell

--> Played by Lisa Gay Hamilton

->'''Played By''': Music/{{Ludacris}}

--> Played by Creator/LindsayPulsipher

--> Played by Creator/VirginiaMadsen

--> Played by Charlotte and Vivian Cabell

-> Played by Laura Benanti

-> Played by Alison Fernandez

-> Played by Nancy Ticotin

-> Played by Charlayne Woodard

-> Played by Leslie Odom Jr.

-> Played by Creator/PabloSchreiber

-> Played by Dallas Roberts

-> Played by Jefferson Mays

-> Played by Sarah Bisman

->'''Played By''': Creator/TitusWelliver

-> '''Played By''': Peter Jacobson

-> '''Played By''': Creator/JeremyIrons

* IAmNotMyFather: A rare example in that his relationship with his father is pretty good, but he makes it clear that his professional loyalties lie with SVU.

** A few scenes also suggest that, unlike his father, he's not particularly interested in climbing the ranks and would just as soon stay where he's comfortable. His father, who takes it as a foregone conclusion that Mike will follow in his footsteps, doesn't seem to grasp this.

* TheJudge: The second most popular recurring judge on SVU after Donnelly, though she debuted first.

* TheJudge: The most popular recurring judge on SVU.