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Alexandra Cabot (Law & Order)
Encyclopedia
Alexandra "Alex" Cabot is a fictional character
within the Law & Order
universe
portrayed by Stephanie March
. She is a primary character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
and Conviction.
overseeing the legality of its arrests, following a rotating mix of ADAs (among them Abbie Carmichael
of the original Law & Order
). While she empathizes
with the sexual assault
victims she deals with, her strict code of legal ethics
often forces her to make harsh decisions and judgments that go against her personal feelings.
She does occasionally bend the rules to suit her own notions of justice, however, often with unpleasant results. In the episode "Guilt," for example, she lies to detectives about having a search warrant
to convict a serial child molester, and aggressively pressures one of the molester's victims to testify against him. The victim later attempts suicide
, leaving him with severe brain damage
. She only lied about the warrant after he attempted suicide, because he could no longer testify within the time frame demanded by the court. She is let off with a one-month suspension, but never truly forgives herself.
While Cabot had only been seen dating defense attorney Trevor Langan (Peter Hermann
), executive producer and head writer Neal Baer has said that there is an unaddressed sexual tension
between Cabot and Detective Olivia Benson
(Mariska Hargitay
). Baer admits saying: "We read the fan sites. We know that people are into the Alex-Olivia thing. All the codes are in there."
Cabot has appeared in 90 episodes, making her the third longest ADA in the Law & Order franchise
history, surpassed by her successor, Casey Novak
, and also by CI's Ron Carver
named Rafael Zapata Gaviria, who worked for the notorious drug lord Cesar Velez. Zapata had brutally raped and murdered an undercover NYPD
officer working with the DEA
. Cabot receives a threat on her life, as well as that of her mother. Despite warnings from her colleagues, Cabot continues the case, unwilling to let Zapata scare her. Timothy Donovan, a key witness and DEA special agent, is murdered in a car bombing right before Cabot's eyes. Cabot initially wants to try Zapata, even with no witness and her own life on the line, but after pressuring from the SVU detectives and District Attorney Arthur Branch
(Fred Thompson) that her losing case isn't worth dying for, she drops the charges. However, Zapata is immediately arrested by Federal Agents for the witness' murder.
At the conclusion of the episode, she is shot in a drive-by shooting
while saying goodnight to SVU detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler
(Christopher Meloni
). Proclaimed dead in the newspapers, Cabot disappears into the Witness Protection Program. She insists on telling Benson and Stabler the truth the night she leaves the city. She is replaced by ADA Casey Novak
(Diane Neal
).
"), when she emerges from hiding to be a witness in a case against Liam Connors, the assassin
who tried to kill her. It is revealed in this episode that Cabot was living in Wisconsin under the name "Emily" and working for an insurance company. Her "Emily" identity was from Tulsa. It is also mentioned that Cabot's mother died during her time in witness protection and that she was unable to attend the funeral. She wants to see Connors brought to justice, but does not want him to be convicted of a murder that he didn't actually commit, which forces her to leave witness protection and face him in the courtroom. Connors goes to prison, having been found guilty under two counts of attempted murder
(Cabot and an eight-year-old boy), plus five counts of murder. Cabot quickly disappears again under a new identity.
": She had left witness protection after Velez was murdered in prison and Connors was extradited
to Ireland
. At some point between 2006 and 2009, she stepped down from the position of Bureau Chief and began work in the Appeal Bureau. Cabot was then asked by DA Jack McCoy
(Sam Waterston
) to step in to take over for ADA Kim Greylek (Michaela McManus
) when the latter requested to return to the Justice Department
. At that point, she had not told her former colleagues of her return; it is implied, and later confirmed, that she is still traumatized
by her attempted murder.
At the beginning of Season 11, it is revealed that Cabot is training in Albany
, and will eventually work in the Appeals Court. McCoy asks Executive ADA Sonya Paxton (Christine Lahti
) to assume Cabot's role ("Unstable
"). In the fourth episode of Season 11, Paxton begins drinking after she makes a mistake at trial; it is later revealed that she is an alcoholic. She is ordered to go through court-mandated rehabilitation and will therefore be temporarily absent. Cabot returns in the fifth episode, commenting that she had "clawed her way" out of Appeals to return to SVU, to prosecute a man running a pedophile advocacy group. In this episode, Stephanie March is added to the Season 11 opening credits as a series regular (though only in episodes in which she appears). In the eighth episode, detectives Benson and Stabler are informed that Cabot had been accused of withholding evidence and is being investigated by Liam Black, a member of the State bar association
. In that same episode Paxton returns to give Cabot some "much needed advice."
In "Witness," Cabot tries a rape case with an illegal immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
as her witness. The witness was a rape victim in the Congo herself, and Cabot works to help her get asylum
, as well as trying the rape case, which then becomes a murder case after the victim dies from an infection caused by a large cut sustained during the rape. Cabot succeeds in getting the rapist convicted and gets the witness a visa
that would allow her to remain in the United States without fear of being deported. However, the case affects both the witness and Cabot; the witness decides to return to the Congo to help rape victims there, while Cabot decides to take a leave of absence and joins the Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes sex crimes and other human rights abuses in areas such as the Congo. She is replaced by ADA Jo Marlowe (Sharon Stone
).
are to return to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
in the show's 13th season.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
within the Law & Order
Law & Order (franchise)
The Law & Order franchise is a number of related American television series created by Dick Wolf and originally broadcast on NBC, all of which deal with some aspect of the criminal justice system...
universe
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
portrayed by Stephanie March
Stephanie March
Stephanie Caroline March is an American actress, best known for her current portrayal of Alexandra Cabot on the television series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Early life:...
. She is a primary character in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
and Conviction.
Character overview
Cabot first appears in the SVU episode "Wrong Is Right," when she is hired to work with SVU as their permanent ADADistrict attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
overseeing the legality of its arrests, following a rotating mix of ADAs (among them Abbie Carmichael
Abbie Carmichael
Abigail "Abbie" Carmichael is a fictional character on the TV drama Law & Order created by Rene Balcer and portrayed by model/actress Angie Harmon...
of the original Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
). While she empathizes
Empathy
Empathy is the capacity to recognize and, to some extent, share feelings that are being experienced by another sapient or semi-sapient being. Someone may need to have a certain amount of empathy before they are able to feel compassion. The English word was coined in 1909 by E.B...
with the sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
victims she deals with, her strict code of legal ethics
Legal ethics
Legal ethics encompasses an ethical code governing the conduct of persons engaged in the practice of law and persons more generally in the legal sector.-In the United States:...
often forces her to make harsh decisions and judgments that go against her personal feelings.
She does occasionally bend the rules to suit her own notions of justice, however, often with unpleasant results. In the episode "Guilt," for example, she lies to detectives about having a search warrant
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order issued by a Magistrate, judge or Supreme Court Official that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search of a person or location for evidence of a crime and to confiscate evidence if it is found....
to convict a serial child molester, and aggressively pressures one of the molester's victims to testify against him. The victim later attempts suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, leaving him with severe brain damage
Brain damage
"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...
. She only lied about the warrant after he attempted suicide, because he could no longer testify within the time frame demanded by the court. She is let off with a one-month suspension, but never truly forgives herself.
While Cabot had only been seen dating defense attorney Trevor Langan (Peter Hermann
Peter Hermann
Peter Hermann is a German-American actor and writer. He is married to actress Mariska Hargitay, with whom he has three children.-Career:Hermann had brief stints on a variety of television shows that include the soap opera, Guiding Light , the ABC Family show, Beautiful People and the Lifetime...
), executive producer and head writer Neal Baer has said that there is an unaddressed sexual tension
Sexual tension
Sexual tension is a social phenomenon that occurs when two people interact and one or both feel sexual desire, but the consummation is postponed or never happens....
between Cabot and Detective Olivia Benson
Olivia Benson
Det. Olivia "Liv" Benson is a fictional character on the NBC police procedural drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Mariska Hargitay. She is the former partner of Elliot Stabler. In Season 13, her partner will be Nick Amaro...
(Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Hargitay is an American actress, best known for her role as New York City sex crimes Detective Olivia Benson on the NBC television drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, a role that has earned her multiple awards and nominations, including an Emmy and Golden Globe.The daughter of actress...
). Baer admits saying: "We read the fan sites. We know that people are into the Alex-Olivia thing. All the codes are in there."
Cabot has appeared in 90 episodes, making her the third longest ADA in the Law & Order franchise
Law & Order franchise
The Law & Order franchise is a number of related American television series created by Dick Wolf and originally broadcast on NBC, all of which deal with some aspect of the criminal justice system...
history, surpassed by her successor, Casey Novak
Casey Novak
Casey Novak is a fictional character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Diane Neal. She is the only female assistant district attorney to have appeared in five complete seasons in any Law & Order series and the longest-running ADA in the entire franchise.-Character:Casey Novak is a...
, and also by CI's Ron Carver
Ron Carver
Ron Carver is a fictional character on the NBC-USA Network series, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, played by Courtney B. Vance.Carver often works in conjunction with detectives Robert Goren, Alexandra Eames, Mike Logan and Carolyn Barek of the Major Case Squad. He graduated from John Jay College of...
Departure from SVU
Cabot was taken out of the show in the episode "Loss," in which she is prosecuting a rapistRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
named Rafael Zapata Gaviria, who worked for the notorious drug lord Cesar Velez. Zapata had brutally raped and murdered an undercover NYPD
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...
officer working with the DEA
Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Justice, tasked with combating drug smuggling and use within the United States...
. Cabot receives a threat on her life, as well as that of her mother. Despite warnings from her colleagues, Cabot continues the case, unwilling to let Zapata scare her. Timothy Donovan, a key witness and DEA special agent, is murdered in a car bombing right before Cabot's eyes. Cabot initially wants to try Zapata, even with no witness and her own life on the line, but after pressuring from the SVU detectives and District Attorney Arthur Branch
Arthur Branch
Arthur Branch is a fictional attorney and a regular character on the TV crime dramas Law & Order and Law & Order: Trial by Jury. Branch has also appeared on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and Conviction....
(Fred Thompson) that her losing case isn't worth dying for, she drops the charges. However, Zapata is immediately arrested by Federal Agents for the witness' murder.
At the conclusion of the episode, she is shot in a drive-by shooting
Drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a form of hit-and-run tactic, a personal attack carried out by an individual or individuals from a moving or momentarily stopped vehicle without use of headlights to avoid being noticed. It often results in bystanders being shot instead of, or as well as, the intended target...
while saying goodnight to SVU detectives Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler
Elliot Stabler
Det. Elliot "El" Stabler is a fictional character on the TV crime drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Christopher Meloni. He was the partner of Olivia Benson before retiring, following a shooting.-Character overview:...
(Christopher Meloni
Christopher Meloni
Christopher Peter Meloni is an American actor. He is best known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and as inmate Chris Keller on the HBO prison drama Oz.-Early life:Meloni was born the youngest of three children in...
). Proclaimed dead in the newspapers, Cabot disappears into the Witness Protection Program. She insists on telling Benson and Stabler the truth the night she leaves the city. She is replaced by ADA Casey Novak
Casey Novak
Casey Novak is a fictional character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Diane Neal. She is the only female assistant district attorney to have appeared in five complete seasons in any Law & Order series and the longest-running ADA in the entire franchise.-Character:Casey Novak is a...
(Diane Neal
Diane Neal
Diane Neal is an American actress widely known for her role as Casey Novak on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Biography:...
).
First reappearance on SVU
Detectives Benson and Stabler are the only ones in the precinct who know the truth about Cabot's "death" until one year and four months later (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "GhostLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 6)
This article contains a list of episodes for season 6 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Cast:*Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler*Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson*Richard Belzer as Det. John Munch...
"), when she emerges from hiding to be a witness in a case against Liam Connors, the assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
who tried to kill her. It is revealed in this episode that Cabot was living in Wisconsin under the name "Emily" and working for an insurance company. Her "Emily" identity was from Tulsa. It is also mentioned that Cabot's mother died during her time in witness protection and that she was unable to attend the funeral. She wants to see Connors brought to justice, but does not want him to be convicted of a murder that he didn't actually commit, which forces her to leave witness protection and face him in the courtroom. Connors goes to prison, having been found guilty under two counts of attempted murder
Attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.-Today:In English criminal law, attempted murder is the crime of more than merely preparing to commit unlawful killing and at the same time having a specific intention to cause the death of human being under the Queen's Peace...
(Cabot and an eight-year-old boy), plus five counts of murder. Cabot quickly disappears again under a new identity.
In Conviction
A year later in the TV series Conviction, Cabot returns to New York and resumes work at the District Attorney's office as a trial bureau chief. Cabot's departure from witness protection and return to New York as a Bureau Chief were not explained during the show's airing. In Conviction, March was a last-minute addition to the cast, and most of the early episodes had already been written before she was added. There were plans in a later episode to explain Cabot's departure from witness protection, and a greater exploration of her personal life and past was planned, but the cancellation of Conviction made this a moot point.Second reappearance on SVU
The explanation of Cabot's return from Witness Protection to Bureau Chief in Conviction is finally revealed in the SVU episode "LeadLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 10)
This article contains a list of episodes for season 10 of the television series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.-Cast:*Christopher Meloni as Det. Elliot Stabler*Mariska Hargitay as Det. Olivia Benson*Richard Belzer as Sgt. John Munch...
": She had left witness protection after Velez was murdered in prison and Connors was extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
to Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. At some point between 2006 and 2009, she stepped down from the position of Bureau Chief and began work in the Appeal Bureau. Cabot was then asked by DA Jack McCoy
Jack McCoy
John James "Jack" McCoy is a fictional character in the television drama Law & Order, created by Michael S. Chernuchin and played by Sam Waterston since 1994. He is the second-longest tenured character on the show, after Lt. Anita Van Buren . On January 28, 2009, McCoy's character ended the longest...
(Sam Waterston
Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy...
) to step in to take over for ADA Kim Greylek (Michaela McManus
Michaela McManus
Michaela McManus is an American actress, best known for her portrayals of Lindsey Strauss on the television series One Tree Hill and A.D.A...
) when the latter requested to return to the Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
. At that point, she had not told her former colleagues of her return; it is implied, and later confirmed, that she is still traumatized
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
by her attempted murder.
At the beginning of Season 11, it is revealed that Cabot is training in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, and will eventually work in the Appeals Court. McCoy asks Executive ADA Sonya Paxton (Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti
Christine Lahti is an American actress and film director. Lahti has had a successful career in television and film. Throughout her career she has garnered 2 Golden Globe Awards from 8 Nominations, An Emmy Award from 6 Nominations and 2 Academy Award nominations...
) to assume Cabot's role ("Unstable
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season 11)
The 11th season of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit premiered on September 23, 2009 and concluded on May 19, 2010. It was moved from Tuesdays to Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET for the NBC broadcast. On March 3, 2010 SVU returned to its previous time slot of 10 p.m. ET...
"). In the fourth episode of Season 11, Paxton begins drinking after she makes a mistake at trial; it is later revealed that she is an alcoholic. She is ordered to go through court-mandated rehabilitation and will therefore be temporarily absent. Cabot returns in the fifth episode, commenting that she had "clawed her way" out of Appeals to return to SVU, to prosecute a man running a pedophile advocacy group. In this episode, Stephanie March is added to the Season 11 opening credits as a series regular (though only in episodes in which she appears). In the eighth episode, detectives Benson and Stabler are informed that Cabot had been accused of withholding evidence and is being investigated by Liam Black, a member of the State bar association
State bar association
A state bar association is a bar association that represents or seeks to represent all of the attorneys in a specific U.S. state. Membership in such an association may be voluntary or mandatory for practitioners in that state. State bar associations may be tasked with the administration of the...
. In that same episode Paxton returns to give Cabot some "much needed advice."
In "Witness," Cabot tries a rape case with an illegal immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
as her witness. The witness was a rape victim in the Congo herself, and Cabot works to help her get asylum
Right of asylum
Right of asylum is an ancient juridical notion, under which a person persecuted for political opinions or religious beliefs in his or her own country may be protected by another sovereign authority, a foreign country, or church sanctuaries...
, as well as trying the rape case, which then becomes a murder case after the victim dies from an infection caused by a large cut sustained during the rape. Cabot succeeds in getting the rapist convicted and gets the witness a visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
that would allow her to remain in the United States without fear of being deported. However, the case affects both the witness and Cabot; the witness decides to return to the Congo to help rape victims there, while Cabot decides to take a leave of absence and joins the Prosecutor's Office of the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes sex crimes and other human rights abuses in areas such as the Congo. She is replaced by ADA Jo Marlowe (Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
).
Third reappearance on SVU
It has been confirmed that both ADA's Alexandra Cabot and Casey NovakCasey Novak
Casey Novak is a fictional character on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, portrayed by Diane Neal. She is the only female assistant district attorney to have appeared in five complete seasons in any Law & Order series and the longest-running ADA in the entire franchise.-Character:Casey Novak is a...
are to return to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
in the show's 13th season.