The prosecution rests, but never on its laurels. These are the best and the worst of the SVU’s ADAs.
In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous. These crimes can be traumatizing to investigate and prosecute, which might be why turnover rates among assistant district attorneys (ADAs) on NBC’s Law & Order: Special Victims Unit are so high. Responsible for representing the government’s interests in court, the various members of SVU’s prosecuting arm have enjoyed differing degrees of audience acceptance, from the revered (Alexandra Cabot) to the reviled (Sonya Paxton).
During the procedural’s generational run, the various ADAs on the SVU team have worked hard to maintain their legal principles while navigating legal waters muddied by bureaucracy and corruption. Some of them paid a high price for their dedication to their work, losing jobs, family members, and even their lives. (Or so we thought.)
We love all the members of the SVU family, but that doesn’t mean we love them all the same. Here are the ADAs of Law & Order: SVU, ranked.
18. Sonya Paxton (season 11–12)
One of the most hated Executive ADAs in the show’s history, Sonya Paxton (Christine Lahti) filled in for ADA Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) across a handful of season 11 episodes. Cynical and ambitious, she immediately clashed with members of the SVU team, particularly Det. Elliot Stabler (Chris Meloni). The inter-office tension grew after Paxton not only botched a case, but showed up to court the next day drunk, landing her in rehab and on a redemption tour that never quite stuck. Though she eventually showed some latent vulnerability, Paxton was murdered by a cold case murder suspect, biting him before she died so SVU could catch her killer.
17. Kim Greylek (season 10)
One of the earlier additions to the SVU team, Kim Greyleck (Michaela McManus) was nicknamed “the Crusader” at her previous job with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women. Her introduction was rocky, since her ADA predecessor, Casey Novak (Diane Neal), was censured over a misstep at trial, but she proved her might — and her trustworthiness. Greylek has since returned to Washington, D.C.
16. Jack McCoy (seasons 1, 9, 11, 19)
Sam Waterston as DA Jack McCoy on ‘Law & Order: SVU’.Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) bid adieu to the Law & Order universe after more than 400 episodes on the flagship series. Throughout his career — first as Executive Assistant District Attorney and later as Manhattan District Attorney — he would occasionally drop by the SVU squad room. McCoy is a foundational character in the Law & Order world, but we ranked him low because, while his influence pervades the series, he’s not technically an ADA.
15. Jo Marlowe (season 11)
Detective Stabler’s former partner, Jo Marlowe (Sharon Stone), didn’t stay in the role of ADA long, but her presence inside the courtroom is unforgettable. She struggled with cancer and underwent a mastectomy, prompting her lover to leave — a storyline that may have been inspired by events in Stone’s real life — but managed to persevere when hired temporarily by Jack McCoy. Marlowe left her post after a hostage situation nearly took the life of M.E. Melinda Warner (Tamara Tunie).
14. Gillian Hardwicke (season 12)
Gillian Hardwicke (Melissa Sagemiller) was the tough ADA transferred from Brooklyn to replace Mikka Von (Paula Patton). The primary ADA throughout season 12, Hardwicke revered the detectives, tending to side with Det. Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) in offering leniency and compassion to small-time offenders. Hardwicke is the eighth ADA assigned to the SVU, and her character departed for unnamed reasons.
13. Mikka Von (season 12)
A short-lived — albeit memorable — addition to the SVU team, ADA Mikka Von appeared in only one episode. She made her time count, however, by offering her opposing councel a vacation to allow SVU’s detectives more time to investigate. Her attempt to stall the legal process was discovered, and Von was promptly fired by the DA.
12. Stan Villani (season 3)
Stan Villani (Ron Leibman) was an Executive Assistant District Attorney who made his debut in the first episode of season 3, and worked alongside Alexandra Cabot on four cases. He was known for his dogged, blunt approach in court, but was sensitive enough to be aware of how he was perceived. His final episode, “Ridicule,” involved a group of young women raping a male stripper, and Villani requested that Cabot handle the cross-examination of the female defendants, saying, “I don’t want to look like Rick Lazio bullying Hillary.” Villani was phased out halfway through season 3 and replaced by Elizabeth Donnelly (Judith Light).
11. Sherri West (seasons 12–13)
Cool, collected, and precise, Sherri West (Francie Swift) commanded the courtroom — even when dealing with that gray area we call justice. Taking over as ADA after Gillian Hardwicke, her cases involved a woman who claimed to have been raped by the same man all over the country, a teen predator who accused Detective Stabler of assault, and a rape victim murdered right before she was supposed to testify.
10. Cindy “CJ” Jones (seasons 27–present)
Cindy “CJ” Jones (Norma Kuhling) is SVU’s newest ADA. Introduced during episode 2 of season 27 (“A Waiver of Consent”), ADA Dominick Carisi Jr. (Peter Scanavino) asked Jones to act as the second chair in a trial prosecuting the owner of an exclusive members-only sex club. Jones impressed Detective Benson with her dogged questioning of the defendant, and by the end of the episode, Carisi confirmed her transfer to the unit as the squad’s newest ADA. Appearing in five episodes so far, Jones’ subsequent cases have involved a teenage miscarriage, the city’s foster care system, and a pattern of sexual abuse within professional fighting.
9. Michael Cutter (season 13)
Following the major exit of original star Christopher Meloni at the end of season 12, SVU needed to fill the void with a few familiar faces. Their solution? Add flagship star Linus Roache reprising his role as Michael Cutter, alongside the return of fan-favorite ADA Alexandra Cabot, in the season 13 premiere. So, Cutter briefly joined the SVU as the Bureau Chief after being demoted by Jack McCoy. He appeared in four episodes and handled three rape cases, including one involving a hotel maid and an Italian diplomat.
8. David Haden (season 13)
David Haden (Harry Connick Jr.), an Executive ADA temporarily assigned to the Manhattan DA’s office, was secretly dating Detective Benson during his four-episode arc on season 13. After the verdict in one of Benson’s past cases was overturned, Haden was reassigned to a committee responsible for investigating past convictions, causing a conflict of interest and forcing the couple to break up.
7. Peter Stone (seasons 19–20)
The son of former Law & Order Executive ADA Benjamin Stone (Michael Moriarty), lead prosecutor Peter Stone (Philip Winchester) was first introduced to audiences via NBC’s Chicago franchise. He appeared on Chicago P.D. in 2016, starred on Chicago Justice in 2017, and made an appearance on Chicago Med in 2017.
Stone moved to New York City to replace ADA Rafael Barba (Raúl Esparza) during SVU’s season 19. He appeared in 36 episodes across seasons 19 and 20, and had a rough go at it: In the final two episodes of season 19, his sister (who has schizophrenia) was held captive and murdered after Stone refused to stop prosecuting a case. In season 20, a woman from his past accused him of sexual assault, and while his character was cleared of any wrongdoing, Stone left the precinct at the end of the year, citing his deteriorating mental health.
6. Abbie Carmichael (season 1)
Before Alexandra Cabot came to claim her ADA crown, Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon) — a familiar face from Law & Order proper — provided her courtroom talents to the SVU gang. A Texan whose politically conservative perspective on criminality and legal matters sometimes chafed against her more liberal-leaning East Coast colleagues, Carmichael appeared in six episodes during season 1. After handling a college murder and an odd brotherly relationship, her final case in the series’ debut season was a Law & Order crossover episode involving a wealthy family and the death of a salesman.
5. Rafael Barba (seasons 14–19, 21–23)
This no-nonsense ADA first joined the ranks in season 14, following a revolving door of ADAs that included Cabot, Novak, Haden, and Cutter. Rafael Barba eventually landed a permanent slot in season 15, but where past ADAs found camaraderie with SVU, the scrupulous Barba was always determined to win his case, even if that meant sparring with everyone from the victim to Olivia & Co. After becoming the longest-serving ADA on the series, Barba resigned amidst his controversial decision to pull the plug on a brain-dead child.
Barba returned to the series intermittently between seasons 21 and 23, operating from a different bench as a defense attorney. In season 23, he chose to defend Richard Wheatley (Dylan McDermott), the businessman accused of orchestrating the murder of Detective Stabler’s wife, Kathy. This understandably affected his working relationship with Detective Benson, and the two parted on emotional terms. Barba has yet to return.
4. Dominick Carisi Jr. (seasons 16–present)
Benson asked for an experienced, empathetic detective: what she got was Dominick Carisi Jr., but you can call him Sonny. Actor Peter Scanavino first appeared on SVU in season 14 as a victim of child molestation who grew up to be a violent offender. Two seasons later, he was cast as Detective Carisi, a young Italian American with dreams of becoming a lawyer. Within five years, the brash public servant had passed the bar and was promoted to ADA, replacing Peter Stone. He was mentored by Rafael Barba, and found love with Amanda Rollins (Kelli Giddish), an SVU sergeant with whom he started a family.
3. Casey Novak (seasons 5–9, 12–13)
Casey Novak was always going to have big shoes to fill, taking up the mantle of ADA in the wake of Cabot’s supposed death. (Cabot actually went into the Witness Protection Program.) Novak joined the cast in episode 5 of season 5, and immediately made an impression as a tenacious, hands-on ADA. Her single-minded approach to justice caused this Harvard Law grad to regularly clash with the SVU squad until she learned how to be a team player. Novak faced disciplinary trouble in season 9 when she violated the Brady rules while prosecuting a corrupt officer. She was censured for three years, and was later replaced by Kim Greylek. Novak returned for one episode in season 12, and appeared in four episodes in season 13.
2. Elizabeth Donnelly (seasons 3–4, 6–12)
This is where our No. 1 ADA, Alexandra Cabot, gets her ferocity. Before scraping off New York scum from the judge’s chair — which she assumed in the show’s seventh season — Cabot’s and Novak’s supervisor, Elizabeth Donnelly, made a name for herself as Bureau Chief ADA, racking up victory after victory. Donnelly is surefooted and moral, but even she struggles to keep her feelings out of the courtroom. In the season 10 episode “Persona,” Donnelly returned to her role as prosecutor to try a fugitive whose escape more than 30 years prior compromised Donnelly’s career. Donnelly survived a poisoning attempt near the end of season 10 and returned for an episode apiece in seasons 11 and 12.
1. Alexandra Cabot (seasons 2–6, 10–11, 13, 19 )
Neither an assassination attempt nor the Witness Protection Program can keep this ADA down. Alexandra Cabot is a fighter, tackling everything from complex war crimes to dismantling the typically lecherous (and fictional) Hudson University. From the moment she introduced herself to the squad by calling in favors to her judge relatives, Cabot makes it clear that she’s willing to bend the rules for a good cause. Cabot also bears the distinction of being the ADA audiences most wanted to hook up with Olivia Benson. (The online shipping got so extreme, the actors started pushing for a hook-up too.) The romance never happened, but Cabot stayed busy on the show until a drug lord put a hit on her, forcing her into hiding.
Too good for us all, Cabot left New York City in season 11 to take a job prosecuting sex crimes in war-torn countries. She returned for seven episodes in season 13, after which she stopped working for the DA’s office and began helping victims of domestic violence escape their abusers by disappearing them.
