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* CatSmile: She has a cat-like smirk WhenSheSmiles.
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* ContraltoOfDanger: Has the second deepest voice of all the female main cast and is notoriously aggressive in prosecution.
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* ContraltoOfDanger: Has the deepest voice of all the female main cast.
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* ControlFreak: Stabler accuses her of being this during his ReasonYouSuckSpeech in ''Solitary.'' Paxton [[ArmorPiercingSlap did not take it well.]]
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* ControlFreak: Stabler accuses her of being this during his ReasonYouSuckSpeech in ''Solitary.'' Paxton [[ArmorPiercingSlap did not take it well.]]
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* ShesGotLegs: She was a master at showing off those beauties.
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[[folder:Judge Elizabeth Donnelly]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/donnelly_persona.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JudithLight
* 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).
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: 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.
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/donnelly_persona.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JudithLight
* 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).
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: 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.
to:
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JudithLight
* 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).
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: 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.
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!!Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter
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[[folder:A.D.A Sonya Paxton]]
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[[folder:A.D.A Alexandra "Alex" Cabot]]
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[[folder:A.D.A Casey Novak]]
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[[folder:A.D.A Kim Greylek]]
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[[folder:A.D.A Jo Marlowe]]
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[[folder:A.D.A Gillian Hardwicke]]
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[[folder:A.D.A Rafael Barba]]
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[[folder:A.D.A. Peter Stone]]
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[[folder:A.D.A. Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, Jr.]]
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* IllGirl: In her final appearance, she reveals that she has breast cancer.
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* TheTopicOfCancer: In her final appearance, she reveals that she has breast cancer.
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The following lists all characters, major and minor, who are/were members of the Sex Crimes Bureau of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
[[foldercontrol]]
!!Bureau Chief Assistant District Attorneys
%%Please list by order of joining
[[folder:Judge Elizabeth Donnelly]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/donnelly_persona.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JudithLight
* 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).
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: 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:Michael Cutter]]
!!Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c2f50f387718590a108081ab9bba865e.png]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrder'' | ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/LinusRoache (Seasons 18-20)
->'''Cyrus Lupo''': ''Is this some sort of sport to you?''
->'''Michael Cutter''': ''Stick with your law books, detective. On the page, the law is a much purer thing.''
Jack [=McCoy=]'s successor as EADA when he was appointed District Attorney. Cutter is just as ruthless, but with fewer scruples and a decidedly more gray outlook on justice.
----
* AmbiguouslyChristian: He could work with witnesses and colleagues who were believers, but kept mum about his own religious background and current beliefs, if any. In "Bogeyman" he suggests to Connie that he might follow the episode's ChurchOfHappyology, but this is probably a {{troll}}. This is a contrast to both his Catholic iconoclast predecessor [=McCoy=] and [=McCoy=]'s still-observing predecessor Stone.
* AmoralAttorney: Even more so than Jack that even the detectives are appalled by his methods. To wit, during one trial about a company that made drugs and did illegal human trials, he cross-examines Van Buren out of the blue, about her cancer and how she uses the drugs to treat that are made by the company on trial. She is '''not''' happy about it at all, to the point she refuses to even speak with him.
--> Stick with your law books, detective. On the page, the law is a much ''purer'' thing.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Despite their many disagreements, it’s occasionally shown how much he and Jack genuinely respect one another. Two examples are when Jack publicly thanked Cutter for giving him a WhatTheHellHero for overcharging a group of defendants, and when Cutter bluffed a corrupt governor, who had declared a personal vendetta against Jack, into resigning.
* CommanderContrarian: He disagrees with Jack, a lot -- to the point you wonder why he wasn't fired since he usually acts like he's the one in charge.
* {{Determinator}}: Like Jack, he'll do anything to win a case. However unlike Jack it seems he's less interested in justice and just interested in winning.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Despite his love of winning, he refused to let a senile judge stay on the bench, even though the judge kept ruling in his favor.
** Almost everything involving "Falling" becomes a demonstration of his standards getting so indignant that it actually interferes with his work and pisses both [=McCoy=] and the judge off. The result is a marginal assault charge and probation on the defendant and the ambiguously potential death of a disabled child because Cutter wasn't allowed to hound the case further (though a lack of solid evidence doesn't help).
* {{Expy}}: His main talent is identifying the beliefs, insecurities, and delusions that motivate criminals, and using them to manipulate a defendant to confess or cooperate, often in a rather spectacular fashion. This makes him very similar to Robert Goren.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: To the police, since he went out of his way to needlessly antagonize during his tenure even Van Buren.
* {{Foil}}: He's just as ruthless as [=McCoy=], but he's more cocky, more difficult to work with, disrespectful to his colleagues and all in all seems more interested in winning a case for winning's sake than for justice.
* IconicItem: His baseball bat.
* IconicSequelCharacter: One of the most fondly remembered characters of the show, but doesn't make an appearance until the eighteenth season.
* {{Jerkass}}: Cutter's extremely abrasive, openly contemptuous of Jack, and goes out of his way to needlessly antagonize his colleagues both at the DA's office and with the NYPD, because he's ''that'' much of a prick. Special mention goes to the episode "Falling" where he tried to force a family to accept a plea deal that would explicitly forbid them from doing a controversial operation on their disabled daughter that would make it easier for them to care for her --- something the judge overseeing the case had flat out forbid Cutter to do. Jack, who had ordered Cutter to remove it from the deal, personally intervenes at the sentence hearing to tell the judge the DA's office is having the stipulation removed from the plea deal.
* JerkassHasAPoint: When Detective Ed Green is facing murder charges, [=McCoy=] and Rubirosa balk at charging an officer they know so well. Cutter points out that if it were any other cop they (especially [=McCoy=]) would be on the warpath, and continually presents alternate theories that would justify the maximum charges, which ''is'' what tends to happen with every other defendant. Of course legal ethics would require that they recuse themselves from the case due to a conflict of interest -- it speaks volumes about how cold-hearted Cutter is that he felt no hesitation at all in doing it, instead of passing it on to another ADA who never met or worked with Green.
** He was also right to [[WhatTheHellHero call out Lupo]] for the consequences of taking a short cut.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He may be a {{Jerkass}} who seems to focus on winning as a priority rather than the rule of law itself, but he still has his moments of care for Connie and the detectives, and still has bits of morality when defendants ''really'' cross the line. If he's actually out to win a case for someone's sake and/or proper justice, he's even more dangerously determined than normal.
* ManipulativeBastard
* RankUp: {{Averted}}. When he is transferred to SVU, he's been ''demoted'' to Bureau Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit.
* ShadowArchetype: To Jack [=McCoy=]. Numerous characters accused [=McCoy=] of trying to get a win in his cases regardless of how low he had to go, which often rung hollow since the audience knows it's for his personal view of justice - but for Cutter, victory is usually his goal regardless of how moral or reasonable it can be. While both do fight for justice in the D.A.'s office, Cutter is the equivalent of a [=McCoy=] who pursues his work with far fewer scruples, right down to similar outrageous stunts and controversial actions that throw the law into disarray. This also drives a lot of the adversarial dynamic between them, because Cutter believes he's just doing what [=McCoy=] would have done in his shoes while the OlderAndWiser [=McCoy=] derides both Cutter and himself over it.
* SmugSnake: His earlier episodes usually had him disobey Jack's order to prove he knew better than the old man... and it always blew up in face. He got better.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Being a universally prideful asshole to basically everyone means very few people take Cutter all that seriously and often damages his cases in certain ways. It's his biggest weakness, and is often reprimanded as a result.
* TragicKeepsake: He keeps a murder weapon from a trial he lost in his office to remind himself not to take victory for granted, no matter how strong a case appears.
* UltimateJobSecurity: You really have to wonder as to ''why'' he hasn't been fired yet. Talented lawyer he may be that no way excuses his blatant and open contempt of Jack, his boss. Especially since Jack had no trouble firing an ADA who told him ''[[TooDumbToLive to his face]]'' [[TooDumbToLive that he couldn't be trusted with the power of the DA's office]].
* UnresolvedSexualTension: At least one person tells Connie that Cutter carries a torch for her. He really does.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gets called on his more questionable actions often.
** One time when [=McCoy=] chews him out, he points out [=McCoy=] did the same thing, only for [=McCoy=] has to remind him he got chewed out for what he did and would suffer consequences.
** At two different times, Connie shortly, but curtly rips into him for using her good looks as a way to win a trial.
** Van Buren [[TranquilFury rips him a new asshole]] after he blindsides her on the witness stand with extremely personal questions about her cancer treatment.
* {{Transplant}}: Played a recurring role on Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit for one season after the original was cancelled.
[[/folder]]
!!Executive Assistant District Attorneys
%%Please list by order of joining
[[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.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes
* 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 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.
* 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]]
!!Assistant District Attorneys
%%Please list by order of joining
[[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 goes too far 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. She subsequently left the DA's office and lost her trust in the law's ability to protect abuse victims.
* CameBackWrong: As of "Sunk Cost Fallacy", she's helping abused women and their children "disappear," arranging new identities and homes for them and even faking their deaths at times. She's become embittered about the judicial system's repeated failures to protect victims of domestic violence, and this attitude puts her sharply at odds with Benson.
* 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 defence's 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 oath taken by witnesses to tell "the truth, 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 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 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.
** In "Loss", she suffers something of a HeroicBSOD when the defendant she's supposed to prosecute uses his Colombian cartel networks to target her for assassination. This gets an agent that she initially wanted a testimony from killed in a car bomb intended for her, and she's put into utter shock and horror when it becomes clear that her and her mother's addresses as well as her daily habits were found out thoroughly.
* 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.
* 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: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.
* 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:A.D.A Kim Greylek]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kimgreylek.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MichaelaMcManus
* 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.
[[/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]]
[[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: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.
** In "Defending Rollins", the perp says to him, "I don't know about you or your little [[TheDandy 'Spanish dandy']] here, but I'm straight as an axe." [[BlankStare Barba doesn't even blink at the remark.]]
* 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, and properly reappears in Season 22 as a defense attorney.
* 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.
* IdenticalStranger: Esparza played a sleazy journalist-turned-blackmailer in season 20 of the regular ''Law and Order'' show before joining ''SVU''.
* 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, 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]]
[[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?"
* DoggedNiceGuy: He was this for Rollins, patiently supporting her and her kids for years as a family friend until [[spoiler:she finally figured out that she'd fallen for him.]]
* {{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: Until he left NYPD to become an [[HelloAttorney ADA]]
* 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.
* HonoraryUncle: He's "Uncle Sonny" to Olivia's son Noah and Amanda's daughters Jesse and Billie.
* 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 that 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.
* LastNameBasis: He is "Carisi" to literally everyone outside his immediate family, except Noah Benson and Jesse and Billie Rollins, who call him "Uncle Sonny". Amanda, and ''only'' Amanda, sometimes calls him "Dominick".
* 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.
* ParentalSubstitute: To Rollins' daughters, Jesse and Billie -- he's the closest thing to a father they've ever really known. This trope becomes a plot point in season 23, when Billie wonders if he ''is'' her daddy, and Carisi and Rollins are forced to [[spoiler: disclose their RelationshipUpgrade, both at work and at home.]]
* PornStache: Sports an impressive one in his first two episodes.
* 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. They eventually ''do'' finally admit it at the end of Season 22.]]
* 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]]
[[foldercontrol]]
!!Bureau Chief Assistant District Attorneys
%%Please list by order of joining
[[folder:Judge Elizabeth Donnelly]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/donnelly_persona.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/JudithLight
* 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).
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: 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:Michael Cutter]]
!!Executive Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/c2f50f387718590a108081ab9bba865e.png]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrder'' | ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/LinusRoache (Seasons 18-20)
->'''Cyrus Lupo''': ''Is this some sort of sport to you?''
->'''Michael Cutter''': ''Stick with your law books, detective. On the page, the law is a much purer thing.''
Jack [=McCoy=]'s successor as EADA when he was appointed District Attorney. Cutter is just as ruthless, but with fewer scruples and a decidedly more gray outlook on justice.
----
* AmbiguouslyChristian: He could work with witnesses and colleagues who were believers, but kept mum about his own religious background and current beliefs, if any. In "Bogeyman" he suggests to Connie that he might follow the episode's ChurchOfHappyology, but this is probably a {{troll}}. This is a contrast to both his Catholic iconoclast predecessor [=McCoy=] and [=McCoy=]'s still-observing predecessor Stone.
* AmoralAttorney: Even more so than Jack that even the detectives are appalled by his methods. To wit, during one trial about a company that made drugs and did illegal human trials, he cross-examines Van Buren out of the blue, about her cancer and how she uses the drugs to treat that are made by the company on trial. She is '''not''' happy about it at all, to the point she refuses to even speak with him.
--> Stick with your law books, detective. On the page, the law is a much ''purer'' thing.
* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: Despite their many disagreements, it’s occasionally shown how much he and Jack genuinely respect one another. Two examples are when Jack publicly thanked Cutter for giving him a WhatTheHellHero for overcharging a group of defendants, and when Cutter bluffed a corrupt governor, who had declared a personal vendetta against Jack, into resigning.
* CommanderContrarian: He disagrees with Jack, a lot -- to the point you wonder why he wasn't fired since he usually acts like he's the one in charge.
* {{Determinator}}: Like Jack, he'll do anything to win a case. However unlike Jack it seems he's less interested in justice and just interested in winning.
* EveryoneHasStandards: Despite his love of winning, he refused to let a senile judge stay on the bench, even though the judge kept ruling in his favor.
** Almost everything involving "Falling" becomes a demonstration of his standards getting so indignant that it actually interferes with his work and pisses both [=McCoy=] and the judge off. The result is a marginal assault charge and probation on the defendant and the ambiguously potential death of a disabled child because Cutter wasn't allowed to hound the case further (though a lack of solid evidence doesn't help).
* {{Expy}}: His main talent is identifying the beliefs, insecurities, and delusions that motivate criminals, and using them to manipulate a defendant to confess or cooperate, often in a rather spectacular fashion. This makes him very similar to Robert Goren.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: To the police, since he went out of his way to needlessly antagonize during his tenure even Van Buren.
* {{Foil}}: He's just as ruthless as [=McCoy=], but he's more cocky, more difficult to work with, disrespectful to his colleagues and all in all seems more interested in winning a case for winning's sake than for justice.
* IconicItem: His baseball bat.
* IconicSequelCharacter: One of the most fondly remembered characters of the show, but doesn't make an appearance until the eighteenth season.
* {{Jerkass}}: Cutter's extremely abrasive, openly contemptuous of Jack, and goes out of his way to needlessly antagonize his colleagues both at the DA's office and with the NYPD, because he's ''that'' much of a prick. Special mention goes to the episode "Falling" where he tried to force a family to accept a plea deal that would explicitly forbid them from doing a controversial operation on their disabled daughter that would make it easier for them to care for her --- something the judge overseeing the case had flat out forbid Cutter to do. Jack, who had ordered Cutter to remove it from the deal, personally intervenes at the sentence hearing to tell the judge the DA's office is having the stipulation removed from the plea deal.
* JerkassHasAPoint: When Detective Ed Green is facing murder charges, [=McCoy=] and Rubirosa balk at charging an officer they know so well. Cutter points out that if it were any other cop they (especially [=McCoy=]) would be on the warpath, and continually presents alternate theories that would justify the maximum charges, which ''is'' what tends to happen with every other defendant. Of course legal ethics would require that they recuse themselves from the case due to a conflict of interest -- it speaks volumes about how cold-hearted Cutter is that he felt no hesitation at all in doing it, instead of passing it on to another ADA who never met or worked with Green.
** He was also right to [[WhatTheHellHero call out Lupo]] for the consequences of taking a short cut.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He may be a {{Jerkass}} who seems to focus on winning as a priority rather than the rule of law itself, but he still has his moments of care for Connie and the detectives, and still has bits of morality when defendants ''really'' cross the line. If he's actually out to win a case for someone's sake and/or proper justice, he's even more dangerously determined than normal.
* ManipulativeBastard
* RankUp: {{Averted}}. When he is transferred to SVU, he's been ''demoted'' to Bureau Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit.
* ShadowArchetype: To Jack [=McCoy=]. Numerous characters accused [=McCoy=] of trying to get a win in his cases regardless of how low he had to go, which often rung hollow since the audience knows it's for his personal view of justice - but for Cutter, victory is usually his goal regardless of how moral or reasonable it can be. While both do fight for justice in the D.A.'s office, Cutter is the equivalent of a [=McCoy=] who pursues his work with far fewer scruples, right down to similar outrageous stunts and controversial actions that throw the law into disarray. This also drives a lot of the adversarial dynamic between them, because Cutter believes he's just doing what [=McCoy=] would have done in his shoes while the OlderAndWiser [=McCoy=] derides both Cutter and himself over it.
* SmugSnake: His earlier episodes usually had him disobey Jack's order to prove he knew better than the old man... and it always blew up in face. He got better.
* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Being a universally prideful asshole to basically everyone means very few people take Cutter all that seriously and often damages his cases in certain ways. It's his biggest weakness, and is often reprimanded as a result.
* TragicKeepsake: He keeps a murder weapon from a trial he lost in his office to remind himself not to take victory for granted, no matter how strong a case appears.
* UltimateJobSecurity: You really have to wonder as to ''why'' he hasn't been fired yet. Talented lawyer he may be that no way excuses his blatant and open contempt of Jack, his boss. Especially since Jack had no trouble firing an ADA who told him ''[[TooDumbToLive to his face]]'' [[TooDumbToLive that he couldn't be trusted with the power of the DA's office]].
* UnresolvedSexualTension: At least one person tells Connie that Cutter carries a torch for her. He really does.
* WhatTheHellHero: Gets called on his more questionable actions often.
** One time when [=McCoy=] chews him out, he points out [=McCoy=] did the same thing, only for [=McCoy=] has to remind him he got chewed out for what he did and would suffer consequences.
** At two different times, Connie shortly, but curtly rips into him for using her good looks as a way to win a trial.
** Van Buren [[TranquilFury rips him a new asshole]] after he blindsides her on the witness stand with extremely personal questions about her cancer treatment.
* {{Transplant}}: Played a recurring role on Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit for one season after the original was cancelled.
[[/folder]]
!!Executive Assistant District Attorneys
%%Please list by order of joining
[[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.
* TheFriendNobodyLikes
* 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 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.
* 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]]
!!Assistant District Attorneys
%%Please list by order of joining
[[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 goes too far 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. She subsequently left the DA's office and lost her trust in the law's ability to protect abuse victims.
* CameBackWrong: As of "Sunk Cost Fallacy", she's helping abused women and their children "disappear," arranging new identities and homes for them and even faking their deaths at times. She's become embittered about the judicial system's repeated failures to protect victims of domestic violence, and this attitude puts her sharply at odds with Benson.
* 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 defence's 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 oath taken by witnesses to tell "the truth, 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 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 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.
** In "Loss", she suffers something of a HeroicBSOD when the defendant she's supposed to prosecute uses his Colombian cartel networks to target her for assassination. This gets an agent that she initially wanted a testimony from killed in a car bomb intended for her, and she's put into utter shock and horror when it becomes clear that her and her mother's addresses as well as her daily habits were found out thoroughly.
* 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.
* 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: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.
* 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:A.D.A Kim Greylek]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kimgreylek.jpg]]
!!!'''Appearances:''' ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''
!!!'''Played By:''' Creator/MichaelaMcManus
* 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.
[[/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]]
[[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: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.
** In "Defending Rollins", the perp says to him, "I don't know about you or your little [[TheDandy 'Spanish dandy']] here, but I'm straight as an axe." [[BlankStare Barba doesn't even blink at the remark.]]
* 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, and properly reappears in Season 22 as a defense attorney.
* 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.
* IdenticalStranger: Esparza played a sleazy journalist-turned-blackmailer in season 20 of the regular ''Law and Order'' show before joining ''SVU''.
* 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, 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]]
[[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?"
* DoggedNiceGuy: He was this for Rollins, patiently supporting her and her kids for years as a family friend until [[spoiler:she finally figured out that she'd fallen for him.]]
* {{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: Until he left NYPD to become an [[HelloAttorney ADA]]
* 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.
* HonoraryUncle: He's "Uncle Sonny" to Olivia's son Noah and Amanda's daughters Jesse and Billie.
* 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 that 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.
* LastNameBasis: He is "Carisi" to literally everyone outside his immediate family, except Noah Benson and Jesse and Billie Rollins, who call him "Uncle Sonny". Amanda, and ''only'' Amanda, sometimes calls him "Dominick".
* 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.
* ParentalSubstitute: To Rollins' daughters, Jesse and Billie -- he's the closest thing to a father they've ever really known. This trope becomes a plot point in season 23, when Billie wonders if he ''is'' her daddy, and Carisi and Rollins are forced to [[spoiler: disclose their RelationshipUpgrade, both at work and at home.]]
* PornStache: Sports an impressive one in his first two episodes.
* 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. They eventually ''do'' finally admit it at the end of Season 22.]]
* 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]]
