Sandbox / Law And Order Sex Crimes Bureau

The following lists all characters, major and minor, who are/were members of the Sex Crimes Bureau of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.

Bureau Chief Assistant District Attorneys

Elizabeth Donnelly

see Law And Order Judges

Michael Cutter

Appearances: Law & Order | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Played By: Linus Roache (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.

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• Ambiguously Christian: 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 Church of Happyology, but this is probably a troll. This is a contrast to both his Catholic iconoclast predecessor McCoy and McCoy's still-observing predecessor Stone.
• Amoral Attorney: 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.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: 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 What the Hell, Hero? for overcharging a group of defendants, and when Cutter bluffed a corrupt governor, who had declared a personal vendetta against Jack, into resigning.
• Commander Contrarian: 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.
• Everyone Has Standards: 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.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: 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.
• Iconic Item: His baseball bat.
• Iconic Sequel Character: 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.
• Jerkass Has a Point: 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 call out Lupo for the consequences of taking a short cut.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: 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.
• Manipulative Bastard
• Rank Up: Averted. When he is transferred to SVU, he's been demoted to Bureau Chief of the Sex Crimes Unit.
• Shadow Archetype: 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 Older and Wiser McCoy derides both Cutter and himself over it.
• Smug Snake: 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.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: 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.
• Tragic Keepsake: 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.
• Ultimate Job Security: 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 to his face that he couldn't be trusted with the power of the DA's office.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: At least one person tells Connie that Cutter carries a torch for her. He really does.
• What the Hell, Hero?: 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 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 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for one season after the original was cancelled.

Executive Assistant District Attorneys

Sonya Paxton

Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Played By: Christine Lahti

• Control Freak: Stabler accuses her of being this during his "Reason You Suck" Speech in Solitary. Paxton did not take it well.
• Defiant to the End: See Man Bites Man below.
• Fiery Redhead: She can be very feisty and overbearing.
• The Friend Nobody Likes
• Functional Addict: While she was able to hide it as being a hardass, but in the episode "Hammered", it got to the point she was ordered to take a breathalyzer test after showing up late and subsquently suspended.
• Heroic Sacrifice: She did this while managing to get the DNA of a perp for an important case.
• Jerkass: Occasionally crosses over into The Bully.
• Jerkass Has a Point: While Stabler empathizing with Donovan in "Solitary" and wanting to drop charges against him is understandable, she's right that he's a danger to society if he attacks a cop just because he thinks he's about to be arrested.
• Lady Drunk: Has an alcohol problem.
• Man Bites Man: Her Last Stand against her killer.
• Off the Wagon: As of "Hammered". And in court, no less.
• Paper Tiger: Despite her tough as nails attitude in public, when confronted with actual violence (such as during the climax of Sugar), her composure shatters pretty quickly.
• Pet the Dog:
  • After a cleared suspect pushes Stabler off a roof out of fear of being sent back to jail where he spent his entire sentence in solitary, Paxton refuses to let him off despite Stabler not wanting to press any charges. However, she does agree to keep him in general population where he can hopefully get some therapy.
  • Later, in "Gray": when Stabler's daughter Kathleen took a suspect's disciplinary file, Sonya is almost forced to put her on the stand, which could see her expelled from college. It took some convincing from Stabler, but she eventually relented and decided to state that a confidential informant obtained the file, so Kathleen wouldn't need to be subpoenaed.
• Pride Before a Fall
• Temporary Substitute
• This Is Gonna Suck: In "Gray", when the trial judge recuses herself due to dirty laundry the defense dug up and was replaced with the judge that ordered her to go to rehab after her drunken faux pas in "Hammered".
  Sonya: "We're screwed. Officially."
• The Unfettered: She holds back at almost nothing just to win a case.
• You Are What You Hate: She says a lot of things to belittle alcoholics, even to Cragen's face when he describes what it's like to struggle with alcoholism. Then she shows up to court hammered.

Assistant District Attorneys

Alexandra "Alex" Cabot

Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Other Appearances: Conviction

Played By: Stephanie March

• Amoral Attorney: At times. She goes too far in "Guilt" and gets suspended for a month. There have been exceptions, especially in recent appearances.
• Anti-Hero: Does some morally ambiguous things. Sometimes it goes to Nominal Hero levels where she's only interested in winning for the sake of her career regardless of the law or possible innocence.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: 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.
• Broken Bird: 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.
• Came Back Wrong: 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.
• Commuting on a Bus: Has been in the main cast in two separate timespans, as well as several guest appearances.
• Crusading Lawyer: 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."
• Defrosting Ice Queen: 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.
• Everyone Loves Blondes: Many viewers considered her to be "hair porn", especially in her more recent appearances.
• Friend to All Children: 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.
• Hello, Attorney!: And according to this, she's the trope namer
• Iconic Sequel Character: 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.
• Idiot Ball: The plot of "Guilt".
• Informed Attribute: 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 Deus ex Machina or the defendant breaking down and confessing on the stand.
• Jerkass Has a Point: 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 What the Hell, Hero? 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.
• Karma Houdini: Munch even calls her "Teflon".
• Knight in Sour Armor: 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."
• Lantern Jawof Justice: Especially when viewed from the side.
• Limited Advancement Opportunities: 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.
• Lethal Chef: She acknowledges almost setting fire to her own stove.
• Meaningful Name: Alexandra means defender of men, which fits a lawyer like her.
• Ms. Fanservice: Stephanie March is this on her own, but the glasses and the late season hairdo's certainly help. See for yourself.◊
• Never Got to Say Goodbye: Alex's mother died while she was in witness protection and she wasn't allowed to go to the funeral.
• Oh, Crap!: 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 Heroic BSoD 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.
• Older Than They Look: 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).
• Plucky Girl: Especially in the beginning.
• Promotion to Opening Titles: Stephanie March was billed as a guest star in her introduction but is immediately added to the opening credits the following episode.
• Put on a Bus: To witness protection in "Loss". And again in Season 11 to become a Crusading Lawyer.
• Refuge in Audacity: 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.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: "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.
• She's Back: In "Lead".
• Smart People Wear Glasses: A highly intelligent and qualified attorney who also wears a very distinctive pair of black glasses.
• Statuesque Stunner: 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
• The Stoic: Needs to be this for the toughness of her profession, but she's Not So Stoic when she reappears in "Sunk Cost Fallacy".
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: 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 Conviction and then back again.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: 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.
• What the Hell, Hero?: 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.
• Witness Protection: Why the character left the series the first time.

Casey Novak

Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Law & Order

Played By: Diane Neal

• '90s Hair: Her hairstyle in her first appearances were notably outdated for a decade.
• Ambiguously Bi: Hinted at in her first few episodes. Casey is shown to be a very Tomboyish 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.
• Anti-Hero: Frequently bends the rules in order to do the right thing- or at least what she thinks is the right thing.
• Broken Bird: Specially because 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.
• Commuting on a Bus: After getting suspended in the Season 9 finale, she makes a guest appearance in Season 12 and then a few more in 13.
• Contrasting Replacement Character: Casey is a sporty Tomboy with a Girly Streak compared to the cultured and more feminine Alex.
• Criminal Doppelgänger: Casey has one, as her actress played a Villain of the Week in a Season 3 episode before she was Recast As Aregular two years later.
• Crusading Lawyer: Not even Donald Rumsfeld is safe from being subpeona'd by her. Gets particularly like this in cases involving mental illness. It doesn't end well for her.
• Deadpan Snarker: A little more comical and joking, with some of the best quips in the series (Diane Neal is a comedienne), but definitely hinting at Snark Knight later on in her run.
• Domestic Abuse: Casey's schizophrenic ex-fiancee was abusive, and in rather graphic detail.
• Everyone Loves Blondes: In season 7 and some of 8.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: Introduced with a '90s Hair, Casey's hair has been longer or/and wavier since.
• Fiery Redhead: Bonus points for '90s Hair in season 5. Then it gets brought back in season 9, but Hotter and Sexier.
• Hello, Attorney!: DIANE NEAL. Even with the stupid hair in the beginning.
• Honor Before Reason: 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 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.
• Iconic Sequel Character: 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.
• Kaleidoscope Hair: She has been in several shades of blonde and red throughout her appearances.
• Meaningful Name: "Casey" means "brave", and she is fond of making risky decisions in her tenure on the show.
• Ms. Fanservice: 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.
• Must Have Caffeine:
  Casey: Every second of every day.
• Passionate Sports Girl: Plays softball, and appears to be rather athletic in general.
• Plucky Girl: It really pisses the characters off at first, but they get used to it.
• Punny Name: A lawyer named Casey.
• Put on a Bus: Gets suspended in the Season 9 finale "Cold".
• Refuge in Audacity: 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.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: "If this is justice, then I don't want this career."
• She's Back In Reparations.
• Ship Tease: Had a bit with Chester Lake in his first appearance and in the Season 9 finale, though this immediately got sunk since by the end of the episode, he's off to prison and she's suspended.
• Statuesque Stunner: Diane Neal is 5' 10", and Casey has been called statuesque In-Universe a number of times.
• What the Hell, Hero?: To the point where she eventually gets suspended for a few years.

Kim Greylek

Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Played By: Michaela McManus

• All There in the Manual: 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."
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She has the darkest hair of the first three AD As, is tall like Alex and Casey, and is noticeably more aloof and blunt.
• Anti-Hero Substitute: She's notably more blunt and professional compared to both Alex and Casey.
• Brutal Honesty: She is unapologetic and blunt.
• Crusading Lawyer: In D.C. she was called "The Crusader" and she often brings up her opinions on civil rights issues like the death penalty.
• Hello, Attorney!: Unpopular as she was, no one denies that she was attractive.
• The Fashionista: Always dresses professionally, but her sense of fashion was much more pronounced than Alex and Casey's.
• Fire-Forged Friends: She wasn't too popular with the squad in her debut, but she did receive their trust later, enough to put her on First-Name Basis with them.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: 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.
• Informed Ability: 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.
• Meaningful Name: She leans more towards the grey area of the White-and-Grey Morality.
• Plucky Girl: It somewhat annoys the detectives, but that hardly slows her down.
• Put on a Bus: In "Lead". She was called back to D.C.
• Shoo Out the New Guy: After about 2/3 of a season, she gets Put on a Bus in "Lead" ^note She appears only briefly in the episode's Cold Open and replaced by Cabot.
• Slipknot Ponytail: Her hair is always tied up, except for the episode Hothouse, where she let her hair down.
• Statuesque Stunner: She's a good looking woman clocking at 5'9.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Only around for about two-thirds of a season, making her the shortest main cast member to date.

Jo Marlowe

Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Played By: Sharon Stone

• 11th-Hour Ranger: She was SVU's A.D.A. in the last four episodes of Season 11.
• Hello, Attorney!: One who was a Fair Cop in her prime.
• Guile Hero: She's not above manipulating her allies to win a case.
• Large Ham: Jo is notably theatrical.
• Minored In Ass Kicking: She's a former cop prior to her law career.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: It's unclear what Jo stands for.
• Retired Badass: She's a former cop.
• Sexy Mentor: She was Stabler's former training officer and frequently acts flirtatious towards him.
• Silver Vixen: She's in her fifties and is visibly beautiful (which is unsurprising given that she's played by famous sex symbol).
• Statuesque Stunner: She's 5'9, only an inch shorter than Novak.
• The Topic of Cancer: In her final appearance, she reveals that she has breast cancer.

Gillian Hardwicke

Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Played By: Melissa Sagemiller

• Broken Pedestal: Somewhat. She revered Benson and Stabler for their success rate in closing cases and was ecstatic when assigned to the 16th, but seeing them work (especially Elliot) has given her headaches due to their method clashing with her usually by-the-book approach.
• Brutal Honesty: She's very upfront about everything.
• A Day in the Limelight: Hardwicke shares center stage with Stabler during "Pop."
• Fake Guest Star: She's present in half of Season 12 yet is only credited as a guest-star.
• The Fashionista: Like Greylek before her, Hardwicke was much more fashion conscious in her outfits.
• Hello, Attorney!: More cuter than outright beautiful but attractive nonetheless.
• Meaningful Name: Hardwick and Hardwicke are common place names in England—this is from the Old English pre-7th century word "heorde", meaning a "herd or flock", with "wic", which like the later Viking word "thorp" described an outlying farm or settlement, which was dependent on a larger village. She is quite by-the-book.
• To Be Lawful or Good: While all the AD As go through this, this is the core conflict in almost all of Hardwicke's cases with SVU. Does she uphold the law, or does she fight for justice for the victims? More than once does she throw a case for the victims.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Only appears for one season.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Disappears after Season 12.

Sherri West

Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Played By: Francie Swift

• Face–Heel Turn: A lesser version. She used to be an ADA but for some reason she's now a defense attorney.
• Long Bus Trip: Hasn't been seen since Season 13.

Rafael Barba

Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Played By: Raúl Esparza

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 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.

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• Abusive Parents: "Padre Sandunguero" heavily implied that his father was this.
  Barba: 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.
• Affectionate Nickname: Olivia has taken to calling him "Rafa". Outside of his childhood friends, she is the only one who calls him by anything aside from his last name or the title "Counselor".
• Ambiguously Gay: 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 'Spanish dandy' here, but I'm straight as an axe." Barba doesn't even blink at the remark.
• Ambiguously Bi: This is more likely. "Funny Valentine" and "October Surprise" confirmed that he's had past attractions to women, and he certainly has plenty of Ship Tease with Olivia, but he also has noticeable moments of Ho Yay 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.
• Anywhere but Their Lips: He kisses Olivia on her forehead after he resigns from his ADA post and tells her goodbye.
• Author Appeal: Barba is often snacking during his scenes. Raúl Esparza tweets and instagrams about food a lot.
• Awesome Ego: Barba thinks he's a superb lawyer. He isn't wrong.
• Badass in a Nice Suit: He's definitely badass, as shown when he lets a rapist strangle him in his first episode. And he's always wearing nice suits. As a Running Gag, 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 vest and his suit jacket, you know he's getting down to business.
• Big Eater: He seems to be eating in almost all of his scenes in season 14, though not a single scene in 15 showed him eating.
• Blood Knight: 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.
• Bothering by the Book: Excellent at this.
• Breakout Character: 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).
• Brutal Honesty: 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.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: 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 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.
• The Bus Came Back: Shows up via Skype mid-way through Season 21, and properly reappears in Season 22 as a defense attorney.
• But Now I Must Go: 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.
• Crusading Lawyer: But decidedly more pragmatic than his most notable predecessors, Cabot and Novak.
• The Dandy: He is obsessed with his immaculate suits.
• Deadpan Snarker: One of the snarkiest characters, especially now that Munch has left.
• Devil's Advocate: 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.
• Disappeared Dad: His father has been dead for fifteen years. Barba's emotions towards him are more anger than fondness.
• Dramatic Deadpan: Barba has a tendency to say horrifying or dramatic things in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
• Establishing Character Moment: 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 Informed Ability.
• 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, Tranquil Fury is more his brand of anger, and as a lawyer his preferred battleground is in Court.
• Friendly Rivalry: 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.
• Good Is Not Nice: 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.
• Hello, Attorney!: Played by Raúl Esparza. Enough said.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: He saves his childhood friend Eddie from getting hung out to dry by their mutual lifelong friend 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.
• Honor Before Reason: 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.
• Humiliation Conga: "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 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.
• Iconic Sequel Character: 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.
• Identical Stranger: Esparza played a sleazy journalist-turned-blackmailer in season 20 of the regular Law and Order show before joining SVU.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: 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 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.
• Jerkass Has a Point: 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.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: 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.
• Love Makes You Crazy: 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.
• Like an Old Married Couple: 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?
• Manly Tears: Though it takes until his Put on a Bus 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.
• Meaningful Name: He's named for the archangel Raphael, who represents acts of healing in the Abrahamic religions. Ironically Barba explicitly tells Olivia that he's "a prosecutor, not a healer" early in their relationship, but eventually his personality mellows out into one that's noticeably more invested in the wellbeing of the victims he fights for.
• Motor Mouth: He talks very terse and very fast. Rollins blames his caffeine habit.
• Must Have Caffeine: 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?
• Mutual Envy: 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).
• The Napoleon: 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 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".
• Negated Moment of Awesome: In "Reasonable Doubt," anticipation builds for Barba's cross-examination of the Woody Allen-Roman Polański 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.
• Not So Stoic: 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.
• The One Who Made It Out: 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 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.
• Only Sane Man: Inherited this role from Huang. Perhaps the best proof of this is "Jersey Breakdown"; at the end 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.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • Taking an actual 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 Rules Lawyer, it shows just how deep his loyalty to Muñoz goes.
  • Also, allowing 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 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.
• Papa Wolf: Much like Benson, he tends to become protective over underage victims and usually goes the extra mile for them.
• Promotion to Opening Titles: Was a Recurring Character in Season 14 before being upgraded to a series regular during Seasons 15-19, due to fan response.
• Put on a Bus: Leaves the show halfway through Season 19.
• Refuge in Audacity: 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."
• Remember When You Blew Up a Sun?: 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.
• Romantic Runner-Up: An episode reveals that he's an Unlucky Childhood Friend to a woman who married his (cheating) Rival Turned Evil who was running for NYC Mayor.
• Rules Lawyer: Prefers to manipulate the system, rather than defy or challenge it. Prime examples are "Lessons Learned" and "Downloaded Child".
• Rummage Sale Reject: 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.
• Self-Made Man: 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.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: 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.
• Sharp-Dressed Man: This man rivals Mycroft Holmes in the suit porn department.
• Ship Tease: Plenty of it with Benson, to the point that they are the Fan-Preferred Couple over Benson and Cassidy (and later, Benson and Tucker).
• Sixth Ranger: 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.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Some fans see him this way, although not necessarily in a bad way.
• The Stoic: 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.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality:
  • 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 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 furiously to anyone who threatens her.
• That Was Objectionable:
  Barba: Objection! Argumentative and... ridiculous!
• Took a Level in Kindness: 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.
• Tranquil Fury: 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.
• Unlimited Wardrobe: He rarely wears the same suit for an entire episode, much less across different episodes.
• Vitriolic Best Buds:
  • 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.
• Waistcoat of Style: He can often be seen wearing this when he's not in his standard nice suit or suspenders.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: 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.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Amaro gives him one of these for his kid-gloves treatment of Muñoz.
• Worth It: When Amaro calls him out on the foolishness of risking his job for his Ungrateful Bastard friend Muñoz, Barba shrugs and basically dares Amaro to report him. 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.

Peter Stone

Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Other Appearances: Chicago Justice | Chicago P.D. | Chicago Med

Played By: Philip Winchester

• Cloudcuckoolander's Minder: His sister is schizophrenic and relegated to an asylum.
• Meaningful Name: 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.
• Hello, Attorney!: He's a Tall, Dark, and Handsome A.D.A.
• Mr. Fanservice: I mean, just look at him. In his first scene in season 20, he was practically naked in bed with just a Modesty Bedsheet covering his naughty bits....and he had TWO women in bed with him...
• Promotion to Opening Titles: Was upgraded to a series regular during mid Seasons 19 following Barba's departure.
• Spin-Offspring: He's the son of the parent series' Benjamin Stone.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: He stands 6'1.
• Transplant: From Chicago Justice to SVU.

Dominick "Sonny" Carisi, Jr.

Appearances: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Other Appearances: Chicago P.D.

Played By: Peter Scanavino

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 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.

---

• Berserk Button: 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.
• Big Brother Instinct: 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.
• Brooklyn Rage: Can sometimes release some of these qualities as the guy has a heavy New York accent and a lot of backbone.
• Brutal Honesty: 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?"
• Conflicting Loyalty: His Season 21 Story Arc is him being caught in the middle between his new job as an ADA and his friendship with his former colleagues at SVU.
• Consummate Liar: He's very good at undercover work.
• A Day in the Limelight: "Parole Violations", in which his sister and her fiance have a prominent role.
• Devil's Advocate: 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?"
• Dogged Nice Guy: He was this for Rollins, patiently supporting her and her kids for years as a family friend until she finally figured out that she'd fallen for him.
• Expy: Shares his cop-attending-law-school routine with Cyrus Lupo from the mothership Law & Order. Even his contentious relationship with the squad's ADA resembles Lupo's relationship with his own, Mike Cutter.
• Fair Cop: Until he left NYPD to become an ADA
• Fan Boy:
  • 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.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: 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?
• Friend to All Children: While not exactly highlighted, he's very good with children, including babies, and helps Rollins when she is initially struggling with 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.
• Hello, Attorney!: 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.
• Honorary Uncle: He's "Uncle Sonny" to Olivia's son Noah and Amanda's daughters Jesse and Billie.
• Hypercompetent Sidekick: 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.
• Innocently Insensitive: 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.
• Insistent Terminology: "Call me Sonny." Nobody does, which Rollins 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".
• It's Personal: Two episodes ("Parole Violations", "In Loco Parentis") have involved members of his family as victims.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Carisi can be abrasive and initially had trouble dealing tactfully with victims, but he's basically a good person.
• Last-Name Basis: 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".
• Minored in Ass-Kicking: Resigns as detective in his fifth year to be an A.D.A.
• Mr. Exposition: 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.
• New Meat: As of Season 16. By the end of season 17, he seems to have shaken this off.
• Only Sane Man: 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! Teresa doesn't even talk to a guy that makes less than six figures, and Gina, she's been engaged what like ten times!
  • Eventually subverted though, since it's revealed that Bella's husband is actually innocent and telling the truth.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: 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.
• Parental Substitute: 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 disclose their Relationship Upgrade, both at work and at home.
• Porn Stache: Sports an impressive one in his first two episodes.
• Ship Tease: With Rollins, starting in season 17 after she has her child and he steps up as a father figure in place of Declan, who's deep undercover in Eastern Europe. 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.
• Token Religious Teammate: 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.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: 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?