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Judges
Judge Lena Petrovsky
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Joanna Merlin
- Iconic Sequel Character: She is one of the prominent judges on the show, but didn't make her first appearance until Season 2.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 12. Assuming she's the same age as her actor, it's entirely possible she's retired.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: 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.
- Worthy Opponent: Despite the professional animosity between her and Alex, she respects her resilience.
Judge Elizabeth Donnelly
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Judith Light
- First-Name Basis: Frequently goes from "Your Honor" or "Judge Donnelly" to "Elizabeth" when speaking with Alex and Casey on more personal matters.
- Cool Old Lady: Light's not that old, but Donnelly's on-off appearances make it clear that she is completely no-nonsense, fierce, and intelligent.
- Deadpan Snarker: Frequently, especially when she's with Benson and Stabler.
- Iconic Sequel Character: 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.
- It's Personal: Takes a leave of absence from the bench in order to prosecute a cold case in Season 10's "Persona" due to her connection with the defendant (see Person as Verb below).
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Can occasionally slip into this at times.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 12.
- Person as Verb: 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".
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Is also respectful of the SVU.
Judge Barry Moredock
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: John Cullum
- Amoral Attorney: An extremely rare positive portrayal. Moredock is known to defend clients he finds morally reprehensible, including 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.
- Anti-Villain: 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.
- Everyone Has Standards: Despite his questionable client list, he doesn't condone any of their actions but instead takes their cases due to his belief for all people to have a fair trial as a constitutional right.
- Friendly Enemy: Has worked with both Cabot and Novak on separate occasions and is a genuinely polite person.
- Graceful Loser: 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.
- Heel–Face Turn: 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.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: 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.
- Rules Lawyer: Very strict on his constitutional law interpretations.
- Smug Snake: Comes off this way at first. However, he does temper this with being a Graceful Loser, 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?
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers an epic ass-ripping to Lionel Granger when the latter engages in some particularly shady legal tactics.
Assistant District Attorneys
A.D.A Erica Alden
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Reiko Aylesworth
- Deadpan Snarker: 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.
- 11th-Hour Ranger: She was SVU's A.D.A. in the last bit Season 1.
- Establishing Character Moment: 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.
- Hello, Attorney!: The lovely Reiko Aylesworth plays her.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: 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.
A.D.A Sonya Paxton
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Christine Lahti
- Control Freak: Stabler accuses her of being this during his "Reason You Suck" Speech in Solitary. Paxton did not take it well.
- Defiant to the End: See Man Bites Man below.
- Fiery Redhead: She can be very feisty and overbearing.
- The Friend Nobody Likes
- Functional Addict: 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.
- Heroic Sacrifice: She did this while managing to get the DNA of a perp for an important case.
- Jerkass: Occasionally crosses over into The Bully.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While Stabler empathizing with Donovan in "Solitary" and wanting to drop charges against him is understandable, she's right that he's a danger to society if he attacks a cop just because he thinks he's about to be arrested.
- Lady Drunk: Has an alcohol problem.
- Man Bites Man: Her Last Stand against her killer.
- Off the Wagon: As of "Hammered". And in court, no less.
- Paper Tiger: 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.
- Pet the Dog:
- 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.
- This Is Gonna Suck: 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."
- The Unfettered: She holds back at almost nothing just to win a case.
- You Are What You Hate: 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.
A.D.A Jo Marlowe
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Sharon Stone
- 11th-Hour Ranger: She was SVU's A.D.A. in the last four episodes of Season 11.
- Hello, Attorney!: One who was a Fair Cop in her prime.
- Guile Hero: She's not above manipulating her allies to win a case.
- Large Ham: Jo is notably theatrical.
- Minored In Ass Kicking: She's a former cop prior to her law career.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: It's unclear what Jo stands for.
- Retired Badass: She's a former cop.
- Sexy Mentor: She was Stabler's former training officer and frequently acts flirtatious towards him.
- Silver Vixen: She's in her fifties and is visibly beautiful (which is unsurprising given that she's played by famous sex symbol).
- Statuesque Stunner: She's 5'9, only an inch shorter than Novak.
A.D.A Gillian Hardwicke
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Melissa Sagemiller
- Broken Pedestal: 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.
- Brutal Honesty: She's very upfront about everything.
- A Day in the Limelight: Hardwicke shares center stage with Stabler during "Pop."
- Fake Guest Star: She's present in half of Season 12 yet is only credited as a guest-star.
- The Fashionista: Like Greylek before her, Hardwicke was much more fashion conscious in her outfits.
- Hello, Attorney!: More cuter than outright beautiful but attractive nonetheless.
- Meaningful Name: 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.
- To Be Lawful or Good: While all the AD As 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.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: Only appears for one season.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Disappears after Season 12.
ADA Isaiah Holmes
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Wentworth Miller
Defense Attorneys
In General
- Affably Evil: Even though they often defend the most despicable people on Earth, sometimes they're not too difficult to get along with.
- Deal with the Devil: Sometimes the DA is forced to make these. The trials they're not, they're likely...
- Friendly Enemy: When there are extenuating circumstances (ex. a defendant who's a victim of a larger crime), SVU's willing to work with the defense.
Roger Kressler
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Ned Eisenberg
- Breakout Villain: 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.
- Card-Carrying Villain: The most callous of the defense attorneys.
- Commuting on a Bus: 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.
- Smug Snake: Often seems to actually take pleasure in getting obviously guilty people off the hook.
- Token Evil Teammate: Compared to the other defense attorneys who are more or less only doing their jobs, Kressler acts like a Smug Snake who is essentially Evil Gloating.
Trevor Langan
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Peter Hermann
- Commuting on a Bus: 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.
- Friendly Enemy: 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.
- Hello, Attorney!
- Iconic Sequel Character: He is one of the prominent defense attorneys in the show, but didn't make his first appearance until Season 3.
- Pet the Dog: When one of his firm's employees is the Victim of the Week, 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.
Carolyn Maddox
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: C.C.H. Pounder
- Commuting on a Bus: She's one of the prominent defense attorneys from Seasons 3-12, but missed Seasons 4, 6, 8, 9, and 11.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 12.
- Straw Feminist: Scoffs at the idea of a male being raped by a female in her debut appearance.
- Villainous Rescue: 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.
Donna Emmett
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Viola Davis
- And Starring: She's been bumped to "Special Guest Star" status around her final seasons, coinciding with her actressess' rise in profile.
- Jerkass Has a Point: She nails Casey on withholding evidence... and is completely right.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 10. Her actress becoming very busy since is likely a major reason.
Oliver Gates
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Barry Bostwick
- Amoral Attorney: Even other defense attorneys consider him to be a bottom feeder.
- Insanity Defense: "Not guilty by mental disease or defect" is his legal M.O.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 8.
- Opportunistic Bastard: 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.
- Smug Snake: To the point that he takes pride in it.
- Villain Has a Point: He tells the detectives that his underage male client had sex with an adult woman who was posing as a teenager in order to relive her high school years. When they don't take him seriously he accuses them of using a Double Standard 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.
- When it is revealed that his client had illicit contact with the trial judge during the case he immediately orders everyone else out of the room so he can speak to the woman in private, pointing out as an officer of the court he has a duty to report any malpractice.
Lionel Granger
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: David Thornton
- Amoral Attorney: 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. Great guy.
- Everyone Has Standards: 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.
- Frivolous Lawsuit: He's fond of filing these in retaliation, no matter how ridiculous they may be.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 11.
- Only Bad Guys Call Their Lawyers: His law firm's clientele don't have the best track record.
- Punch-Clock Villain: 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.
- Smug Snake: He's a jackass, even by defense attorney standards.
Rebecca Balthus
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Beverly D'Angelo
- The Bus Came Back: Returns in Season 9 after last appearing in Season 5.
- Insanity Defense: 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.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 9.
- Put on a Bus: Disappears after Season 5 and isn't seen again until Season 9. After the latter season she disappears again.
- Sarcasm Mode: Balthus seems permanently stuck on this setting.
Nikki Staines
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Callie Thorne
- Ascended Extra: Initially just a recurring lawyer (one who was in a Long Bus Trip at that), she's given a Rape as Drama storyline towards the end of Season 20.
- The Bus Came Back: Returns in Season 18 after last appearing in Season 5.
- Hello, Attorney!: A lawyer played by the beautiful Callie Thorne.
- Put on a Bus: Disappears after Season 5 and isn't seen again until Season 18.
- Rape as Drama: Fellow attorney Rob Miller rapes her during Season 20.
Simone Bryce
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Glenne Headly
- Crusading Lawyer: A child advocacy lawyer, she's called the "Mother Theresa of Children's Rights".
- A Friend in Need: 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.
- To Be Lawful or Good: 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.
Matthew Braden
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Steven Weber
- Amoral Attorney: 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.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 9.
- Minored In Ass Kicking: He was a detective prior to his law career.
- Not So Similar: He was a Cowboy Cop when he was at the force, not unlike Stabler. Braden's career choice after leaving the force kept them from getting along.
Miranda Pond
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Alex Kingston
- Enemy Mine: She and SVU worked together in order to get a Corrupt Judge thrown off the bench.
- Hello, Attorney!: Played by the vivacious Alex Kingston.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 12.
- Token Good Teammate: Her clients are either genuinely innocent or have a sympathetic side.
- Token Minority: The only non-American recurring attorney.
Patrice LaRue
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Jeri Ryan
- Amoral Attorney: Eagerly defends the head of a pedophile right's group under the grounds of discrimination and shames the mother of an abuse victim.
- Hello, Attorney!: Played by 90s Sci-Fi sex symbol Jeri Ryan.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 11.
John Buchanan
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Delaney Williams
- Amoral Attorney: 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.
- Commuting on a Bus: He's one of the prominent defense attorneys since Season 11, but missed Seasons 12, 14, 19, and 20.
- Fat Bastard: Large and completely awful to everyone that isn't his client.
- Hero Antagonist: In the episode "Devastating 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 realize that the accusation was false and they had ruined the reputations of innocent people. Buchanan may be a huge jerk, but he was unquestionably the hero of this episode.
- Only in It for the Money: All his clients tend to share the same thick pockets.
- Smug Snake: Always acts like he's going to win his cases, to an irritating degree.
Sherri West
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Francie Swift
- Face–Heel Turn: A lesser version. She used to be an ADA but for some reason she's now a defense attorney.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 13.
Bayard Ellis
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Andre Braugher
- The Atoner: It's quickly mentioned in his backstory that Ellis formerly defended drug lords, then took the money and switched over to civil rights causes.
- Fire-Forged Friends: 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.
- Good Is Not Dumb: 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.
- Hero Antagonist: Despite occasionally being at loggerheads with the SVU squad, it becomes clear that Ellis is genuinely committed to his principles.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Andre Braugher's role on Brooklyn Nine-Nine is probably the reason why Ellis hasn't appeared in a while.
Barry Querns
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Reg E. Cathey
- Amoral Attorney: 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."
- Enemy Mine: Agrees to help the detectives take down his former employer Bart Ganzel.
- Et Tu, Brute?: 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.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Ganzel's racism and plot to frame Querns inspires this.
Rita Calhoun
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Elizabeth Marvel
- Amoral Attorney: In "The Long Arm of the Witness", she tells Olivia to "lie back and pretend you're enjoying it", warning her that she's harming her career by going after powerful sexual abusers.
- The Atoner: Is very aware that her actions in "Criminal Pathology" has affected how Liv and 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.
- Broken Pedestal: Though she maintains plausible deniability of her clients' actions in most cases, the Season 17 opening episodes have her clearly defending a murderer. Alongside Buchanan. Barba clearly loses a bit of respect of her for doing so.
- The Bus Came Back: After a Long Bus Trip starting in season 18, she comes back in season 22 to defend a corrupt judge who abuses women.
- Deadpan Snarker: 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? - Friendly Enemy: She's defended people SVU have tried to help, has represented Amaro in court and acted as counsel to Benson when IAB investigates her involvement in the death of William Lewis.
- Only in It for the Money: 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. - Reasonable Authority Figure: 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.
- The Rival: 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.
- Statuesque Stunner: Especially when standing next to Barba.
Minonna Efron
Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Played By: Nia Vardalos
- Beware the Silly Ones: 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 suit porn and sharp tongue, yet she's a strong adversary.
- Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 15.
- Punch-Clock Villain: She's a perfectly nice human being, except when she's in a courtroom, where she turns into a legal shark.
- Refuge in Audacity: 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?"
Pippa Cox
