Casey Novak's Tragic Law & Order: SVU Departure Explained

Casey Novak (Diane Neal) was a longtime cast member of Law and Order: SVU with some memorable and intense storylines, and her character was written out of the series in suitably dramatic fashion. Law and Order: SVU has the notable reputation of being the longest-running program in Dick Wolf's extensive television universe. For 25 seasons, the cast of SVU has investigated hundreds of horrific sex crimes at the New York City police station and even after it seems like they've seen the worst, another criminal shows up to shock them.

But it's not just detectives and police officers who aim to capture the city's worst. There are dozens of people who want to protect the innocent as much as the NYPD. The Public Ministry and the ADAs in Law and Order: SVU play a particularly critical role in the series, and each brings a different energy to the series when it comes to their turn in court.

Casey Novak was the Assistant District Attorney for Law and Order: SVU

Novak was a fierce Harvard promoter

Casey Novak is an ADA who has worked in the Manhattan district attorney's office since 2001, after graduating from Harvard. She first appeared in Season 5, Episode 5, “Serendipity” and is the third longest-running ADA in the franchise and the only female ADA to appear in five full seasons of Dick Wolf's shows. Novak is young, fierce, and ambitious, and when she makes the jump from white-collar crime to SVU, she's determined to make her mark on the department no matter who she steps on.

After receiving some advice from Captain Don Cragen (Dann Florek) about working as a team, Novak softens starting in Season 6 but continues to be a formidable prosecutor. The crimes Novak investigates often affect her deeply, and she takes her work incredibly seriously, with a much higher success rate than her contemporaries in the cases she prosecutes. Novak is tough on the criminals she encounters and shows how a fierce defender can sometimes be a necessity when it comes to these disturbing crimes.

Novak left SVU after being censured for violating Brady rules

The ADA returned in seasons 12 and 13 for guest appearances

Despite following the law, Novak made a critical mistake that cost him his job. In the season 9 finale, “Cold”, Novak violates Brady rulesa set of real-world disclosures that say prosecutors must disclose evidence or information to the defense. As Cornell Law put,

“[This] includes any information favorable to the accused that could reduce the defendant's potential sentence, go against the credibility of an unfavorable witness, or otherwise allow a jury to make inferences against the defendant's guilt.”

In this episode, Novak prosecuted a corrupt police officer who raped two 14-year-old illegal immigrants, killing one of them. Novak uncovered evidence that would have helped the defense. In Novak's opinion, she found something that would help the officer get away with his crime. So she refused to tell the defense. And that's breaking Brady's rules.

Novak's mishandling of the case causes the prosecutor to stop pressing charges, allowing the officer to walk. It's implied that Novak was expelled for her actions and in Season 10, Episode 2, new ADA Kim Greylek (Michaela McManus) confirms this. However, Novak later returns for five episodes in seasons 12 and 13 for short arcs. where she reveals that she was censored, with her license suspended for three years.

This match Law and Order: SVU It seems like it took a long time for Novak. Sexual affairs involving minors always seemed to hit her particularly hard, and in this case, she simply didn't have the stomach to hand over evidence that would free someone she saw as a monster. His arc argues the dangers of playing outside the law and how short-term gains can end in long-term losses.

What Diane Neal Has Done Since Leaving Law & Order

Neal also began his political career in 2018

Although Casey Novak remains the role Diane Neal is best known for, after leaving Law and Order: SVUshe continued to find work in television as well as pursue surprising careers. In 2010, Neal first appeared as CGIS Special Agent Abigail Borin in NCISa recurring role she would continue after her departure from Law and Order: SVU. She would remain in NCIS franchise, appearing as Borin in NCIS: New Orleans for some guest starring roles.

She continued to appear in recurring roles on several other notable television shows, including Suits, the following, and Blue Blood. In 2013, Neal was in a car accident and suffered injuries that she revealed caused her to step away from the acting world (through AP News). However, in 2018, she ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York's 19th congressional district as an independent but received only 1% of the vote.