Elizabeth Donnelly

Elizabeth Donnelly is a fictional character on the NBC crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Judith Light since 2002.

Character overview

Although originally appearing as a Bureau Chief EADA, Donnelly is elevated to judgeship during season 7. While in the Manhattan District Attorney Office, however, she serves as the supervisor of Alexandra Cabot and her successor, Casey Novak; Donnelly has presided over numerous cases Novak has prosecuted, as well as Casey Novak's successor Kim Greylek in the episode "Persona".

Notable episodes

Although a judge, Donnelly represents both Casey Novak and Det. Elliot Stabler when a man suing for custody of his child sues them for alleged conspiracy and assault. The suits are dropped, however, following the man's arrest on kidnapping charges.

In season 7 episode "Gone", Donnelly's office is bugged, resulting in a witness being abducted and murdered. When Novak and SVU detectives are unable to link the homicide to the bugging, Donnelly is reluctantly forced to dismiss the case, due to lack of witness testimony, though it is later discovered that the defendants indeed bribed a court officer to bug her office.

In the season 9 episode "Cold", Donnelly calls Casey Novak to her office and informed her that she would be censured and suspended for possibly a year or more for violating Brady rules. Novak asks her what she should do, and Donnelly replies, "Something else."

In Season 10, Donnelly takes a leave of absence from her role as a judge to act as prosecutor on a cold case she was involved with in the 1970s, when a battered woman (Brenda Blethyn) murdered her husband. She admits to Det. Olivia Benson that she was somewhat responsible for the woman absconding from custody and therefore took on the case due to "unfinished business." Her role in the escape leads to mishaps in the justice system being termed "doing a Donnelly" for many years to follow. This episode calls attention to the difficulty Donnelly experiences as a woman working in the justice system. But the revelation that the fugitive had been pregnant at the time of her crime leads Donnelly to what, for her, is an act of leniency.

In the season finale episode "Zebras", Donnelly is poisoned by a syringe that CSU Tech Intern Dale Stuckey (Noel Fisher) had placed on a chair in her home, resulting in her hospitalization. By the end of the episode, she survives and recovers.

Elizabeth Donnelly has appeared in 25 episodes of SVU (13 as a Judge; 12 as a Bureau Chief EADA).

Career overview