<P> In the season - 11 premiere, Cabot is revealed to be training in Albany, and will eventually return to the Appeals Bureau . McCoy asks Executive ADA Sonya Paxton (Christine Lahti) to assume Cabot's role . Paxton is ultimately fired for showing up to trial drunk, and Cabot returns to her old job, commenting that she had "clawed her way" out of Appeals to return to SVU, to prosecute Kevin O'Donnell (Garret Dillahunt), the leader of 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). Benson and Stabler are later informed that Cabot had been accused of withholding evidence and is being investigated by the state bar association . In that same episode, Paxton returns to give Cabot some "much needed advice" that helps her win the case . </P> <P> In another episode, Cabot tries a rape case with an illegal immigrant from the Democratic Republic of the Congo as her star witness . The witness was herself raped in the Congo, 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 injuries 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). </P> <P> ADAs Alexandra Cabot and Casey Novak both returned to Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for the show's 13th season . In the season premiere "Scorched Earth", Cabot makes her first appearance in the squad room since season 11 . She is the lead prosecutor in a rape case against Roberto DiStasio (Franco Nero), a diplomat in the running to become Italy's next prime minister . When the accuser, a hotel maid, is caught on tape admitting she could make money off her alleged rapist, Cabot's new boss, SVU's Bureau Chief ADA Michael Cutter (Linus Roache), says that they are dropping the charges . Cabot fights Cutter, however, and the case does make it to trial, with mixed results; the jury finds the defendant guilty of unlawful imprisonment, but are deadlocked on the rape charge . </P> <P> In the episode "Spiraling Down", Cabot is convinced by the detectives to set up a sting operation to catch johns after they rescue an underaged prostitute . They arrest former professional quarterback Jake Stanton (Treat Williams), and both Cabot and Benson seek to make an example out of him, but Cabot is unexpectedly forced to face off with defense attorney Bayard Ellis (Andre Braugher) at trial, after Benson tells Stanton's wife to call him . After the case takes a turn for the worse, Cabot berates Benson after court when Benson defends Stanton . Cabot implies she knows Benson had something to do with Ellis defending Stanton . Cabot ultimately loses the case after the jury finds Stanton not guilty due to mental instability caused by the numerous concussions he suffered during his career . </P>

Is casey novak and alex cabot the same person