Sonya Paxton

Sonya Paxton
Law & Order character
Christine Lahti as Sonya Paxton in "Sugar"
First appearance	"Unstable"
Last appearance	"Pursuit"
Portrayed by	Christine Lahti
Time on show	2009–2011
Seasons	11, 12
Credited appearances	7 episodes (total)
Preceded by	Alexandra Cabot (as ADA)
Succeeded by	Alexandra Cabot (as ADA) David Haden (as EADA)

Sonya Paxton is a fictional character on the NBC crime drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Golden Globe, Emmy and Academy Award winning actress Christine Lahti.

Character overview

Paxton works in the Manhattan District Attorney's office under the authority of Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston; Law & Order), as an Executive Assistant District Attorney. A member of the DA's office for over 25 years, she has a black-and-white view of the law, and makes sure all procedures are handled by the "book". Having previously worked in the Appeals Bureau, she was the first prosecutor to get a capital conviction in New York when the then newly elected Governor Pataki brought back the death penalty in 1995.^[1] As opposed to other female executives, such as Elizabeth Donnelly,^[2] she was permitted to work as a Homicide ADA in the 1980s.^[1]

Character within SVU

Sonya Paxton is introduced in the eleventh season premiere of SVU, "Unstable", as the unit's new Assistant District Attorney, temporarily replacing ADA Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March) for four episodes. An Executive, Paxton is sent down by Jack McCoy to 'clean the house' in the 'he-said, she-said unit' due to too many convictions being overturned. However, things start out rocky as she butts heads with the SVU team, particularly Detective Stabler (Christopher Meloni), with whom she gets into a heated argument after Paxton calls a suspect's lawyer after he declines his right to counsel twice.^[3]

In the third episode, "Solitary", Stabler is thrown off a roof by a former suspect cleared of charges, Callum Donovan (Stephen Rea), after attempting to apologize to him. Stabler is close to assaulting Donovan in custody, until Paxton interrupts and confronts him. Stabler argues that all she wants is power and control, and he goes further to comparing her to perps he sees daily at the unit. Nearly reduced to tears, Paxton slaps Stabler across the face. Later, prior to sentencing, Stabler asks Paxton if she could drop the charges against Donovan, as he feels that Donovan has gone through enough after serving 19 years in solitary confinement on a previous charge. Paxton declines, stating that he will do the same again when in trouble. Stabler threatens to report her to the District Attorney for assaulting him. Unfazed, Paxton replies, "Go ahead." After Donovan is convicted of attempted murder for his attack on Stabler, Paxton arranges to have him moved out of solitary and into the general prison population to serve his sentence.^[4]

In the fourth episode of the season, "Hammered", when a man drinks heavily and goes home and murders a woman he met at a bar, the defense blames alcoholism for the murder during the trial. Intending to use a computer-generated video mockup of the crime, Paxton accidentally plays a version in which the defendant's face is superimposed onto the attacker. The following morning, she arrives 45 minutes late to a mistrial hearing, appearing distraught and blaming a "fender bender". Judge Barry Moredock (John Cullum) asks if she needs medical help, but the defendant points out that she is drunk. Judge Moredock orders Benson to come with a breathalyzer, which reveals her blood alcohol level to be .082, causing a mistrial. The judge then orders Paxton to seek treatment, prompting her temporary departure. At the end of the episode, she returns to the SVU squad and apologizes to the team, stating that she intends on making amends to each and every one of them.^[5]

Paxton later appears in the episode "Turmoil", meeting Cabot outside the courtroom and telling her to watch out for Benson and Stabler, because they are only loyal to each other.^[6]

Sonya later returns from her alcohol rehabilitation to her position as Executive ADA, in "Gray", to prove to the District Attorney that she has not lost her 'winning ways'. She and Stabler have another heated argument in front of the squad when Stabler's daughter Kathleen illegally obtains a suspect's confidential disciplinary files.^[7]

In the seventeenth episode, "Pursuit", she returns to SVU to help convict child molesters, who have been caught out on TV show, Neighborhood Predator, hosted by Paxton's family friend, Alicia Harding (Debra Messing). After Harding starts to receive personal threats, her lifelong pursuit to find her sister's abductor emerges, a cold case on which Paxton had been working since 1986. Paxton becomes too involved with the case, and she is murdered while investigating the identity of the stalker. Prior to her death, she is able to obtain the stalker's DNA by biting him, which ultimately helps solve the case. The murderer is convicted, and sentenced to death-row, for killing Paxton, and 43 others.^[8]

Development

Christine Lahti was originally slated to guest-star in a single four episode-arc as Executive ADA Sonya Paxton, in the eleventh season of the long-running Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, while producers found a permanent replacement for outgoing ADA Alexandra Cabot (Stephanie March).^[10][11] Lahti couldn't commit to a permanent role, since she resides in Chicago, while filming of SVU takes place in New York City. SVU executive producer Neal Baer revealed that, "She's [Paxton] from Appeals and she's tired of having rape cases overturned because of misidentifications. She's coming to clean things up."^[12] She returns again in the eighth episode of that season to "clash" with Cabot.^[9]

Lahti again returned to SVU for two episodes, in the show's twelfth season. Baer stated that, "We're bringing back characters we love this season."^[13]

According to Lahti, Paxton was originally written as a control freak, "needing to always be right and prove others wrong" — but behind this, were Paxton's fears, insecurities, a low self-esteem and an alcohol problem.^[14]

Reception

American television magazine, TV Guide described the character as an "overbearing", "nasty" alcoholic.^[15] Myra Fleischer of the Washington Times labelled Lahti's character as a "bitchy alcoholic".^[16]

WPIX described Paxton as an "ADA with a dark side" who has "serious control issues and several skeletons in her closet". On the day of the airing of Hammered, Lahti stated that Paxton is the person that "everyone's loving to hate", and that hopefully the viewer's perception of her would change after the episode, sympathizing with the character's drinking problem.^[17]

In an interview with HollywoodOutbreak.com, Lahti said she believed that her character struck a huge chord in the show, "...when those episodes were airing, everywhere I went, people came up to me and said how much they hate me", others approached Lahti and praised her, saying, "We love that you’re so mean to Stabler (Christopher Meloni). We’ve been waiting for someone to stand up to him."^[18]

References