Elizabeth "Liz" Donnelly is a fictional character from the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
crime drama
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
''
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', portrayed by
Judith Light
Judith Ellen Light (born February 9, 1949) is an American actress. She made her professional stage debut in 1970, before making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''A Doll's House''. Her breakthrough role was in the ABC daytime soap opera ...
. She made her first screen appearance during the
third season episode "Guilt", which was broadcast on March 29, 2002.
Development
Creation and casting
Elizabeth Donnelly was conceived by producer
Ted Kotcheff
William Theodore Kotcheff (born April 7, 1931) is a Bulgarian-Canadian film and television director, writer and producer, known primarily for his work on British and American television productions such as ''Armchair Theatre'' and '' Law & Order ...
.
He wanted Judith Light to make a guest appearance on the show, after he saw her in a production of ''
Wit''. However, Light had to tour with the play and was unable to take up Kotcheff's offer.
When Light returned to New York, Kotcheff remembered her and offered her the role of Donnelly. Light commented, "perhaps they were looking to create another strong female on the show, but that's how it came about."
Gail Shister from ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' reported Light's casting on February 19, 2002, saying she had been cast in a recurring role as the "tough new bureau chief". Light made her first appearance on March 29, 2002.
Characterization
In their book ''The Law and Order: Special Victims Unit Unofficial Companion'', Susan Green and Randee Dawn described Donnelly as having "a steely presence with a sure moral compass".
[ Green; Dawn 2009, p.181.] They also noted that other than her career path, little was known about Donnelly's life.
Light said her character was "in love with the law" and not open to corruption, as she always wanted to do the right thing.
Light called Donnelly "powerful" and added that she often helped people who had potential.
After serving as Bureau Chief
ADA
Ada may refer to:
Places
Africa
* Ada Foah, a town in Ghana
* Ada (Ghana parliament constituency)
* Ada, Osun, a town in Nigeria
Asia
* Ada, Urmia, a village in West Azerbaijan Province, Iran
* Ada, Karaman, a village in Karaman Province, ...
, Donnelly became a
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
in the
seventh season.
Character biography
Although originally appearing as a Bureau Chief ADA, Donnelly is elevated to judgeship. While working for the
Manhattan District Attorney's Office, however, she serves as the supervisor of
Alexandra Cabot (
Stephanie March
Stephanie Caroline March Benton (born July 23, 1974) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Alexandra Cabot in the crime drama franchise ''Law & Order'', which she played in the NBC series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' (2 ...
) and her successor,
Casey Novak (
Diane Neal
Diane Neal (born November 17, 1976) is an American actress best known for her role as New York Assistant District Attorney Casey Novak in the television series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', which she played from 2003 to 2008, and 2011 t ...
); Donnelly has presided over numerous cases prosecuted by Casey Novak, as well as a case prosecuted by Novak's successor,
Kim Greylek
Kim Greylek is a fictional character on the NBC crime drama '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', portrayed by Michaela McManus.
Character overview
Kim Greylek transfers to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in a lateral move from the U. ...
(
Michaela McManus
Michaela McManus (born May 20, 1983) is an American actress, known for her portrayals of Lindsey Strauss on ''One Tree Hill'', A.D.A. Kim Greylek on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'', and Grace Karn on the NBC drama ''Aquarius''.
Early life ...
), in the episode "
Persona
A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...
".
Although a judge, Donnelly represents both Novak and
Det. Elliot Stabler (
Christopher Meloni
Christopher Peter Meloni (; born April 2, 1961) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles as NYPD Detective Elliot Stabler on the NBC legal drama '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' for its first 12 seasons and its spin-off ' ...
) in the season 8 episode "
Haystack
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated ...
", when a man suing for custody of his child sues them for alleged
conspiracy
A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
and
assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
. The suits are dropped, however, following the man's arrest on kidnapping charges.
In the 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. Donnelly helps to catch the officer responsible and interrogate her.
In the season 9 episode "
Cold
Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...
", Donnelly calls Novak to her office and informs her that she will be
censure
A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. In parliamentary procedure, it is a debatable main motion that could be adopted by a majority vote. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spir ...
d 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 the season 10 episode "
Persona
A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional Character (arts), character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally ref ...
", 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
Brenda Blethyn (''née'' Bottle; 20 February 1946) is an English actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress, and two Academy Award nominations.
Blethyn ...
) murdered her husband. She admits to
Det. Olivia Benson (
Mariska Hargitay
Mariska Magdolna Hargitay (; born January 23, 1964) is an American actress, director and philanthropist. The daughter of bodybuilder and actor Mickey Hargitay and actress Jayne Mansfield, her accolades include a Primetime Emmy Award, a People's ...
) that she was responsible for the woman escaping 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 come. This episode calls attention to the difficulty Donnelly experiences as a woman working in the justice system. The woman claims to have been raped, but Donnelly believes she is just
manipulative and was using it as an excuse to get away with murder since she had fled Donnelly when she had asked for a meeting to discuss a plea deal. When the woman gets on the stand and tells her story, Donnelly confronts her with her escape and she reveals why she ran: she was pregnant from her rape and wanted an
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
, but couldn't get it in prison. She had approached Donnelly with the intention of agreeing to plead guilty in exchange for being allowed to get the abortion, but lost her nerve when she saw how strong of a woman Donnelly was and believed she was weak. This revelation stuns Donnelly and clearly deeply affects her. The woman is found not guilty of the murder but guilty of the escape, and Donnelly decides to ask for probation at sentencing.
In the season 10 finale episode "
Zebras
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zeb ...
", Donnelly is poisoned by a syringe (containing
potassium chloride
Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a salt ...
, the chemical used for lethal injections) that CSU Tech Intern Dale Stuckey (
Noel Fisher
Noel Roeim Fisher (born March 13, 1984) is a Canadian actor. He is known for his portrayal of List of Shameless (U.S. TV series) characters#Mickey Milkovich, Mickey Milkovich on the Showtime (TV network), Showtime series ''Shameless (U.S. TV ser ...
) had placed on a chair in her home, resulting in her hospitalization. He did this to get revenge against her for berating him after he made a mistake that cost the prosecution a case. She survives, and is seen trying cases in later episodes.
Credits
Light appeared in a total of 25 episodes of ''SVU''; 12 episodes as Bureau Chief ADA (more than any other character in the Bureau Chief capacity), and 13 episodes as Judge Donnelly.
Reception
Green and Dawn praised Donnelly's introduction, saying she was "the ballsiest character the franchise has ever invented – male or female."
[ Green; Dawn 2009, p.238.] They also wrote that Donnelly helped to add depth to the DA's office.
Clarissa from TVOvermind enjoyed Donnelly's reappearance in the season twelve episode "Behave".
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donnelly, Elizabeth
Fictional judges
Fictional lawyers
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit characters
Television characters introduced in 2002
American female characters in television