Judge Elizabeth Donnelly could not have stepped down to defend Elliot Stabler or Casey Novak because she would have lost her seat on the bench.
George Kendall's rap sheet shows a conviction of Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Robbery in the 1st degree and Assault in the 1st degree. Each of these convictions show a sentence of 25 to life, a sentence that none of these crimes carried at the time of Kendall's sentencing in 1982. In present day one could get a life sentence for these crimes under the "three strike" law that gives a repeat offender a life sentence for three felony convictions within a certain period of time but this law did not exist until 1994. Without the three strike law in New York state a charge of Criminal Possession of a Weapon is usually a class-D felony and carries a sentence of 2-7 years. Robbery and Assault in the 1st degree are both class-B felonies and carry a minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum of 25 years, the exact sentence length is determined by the circumstances of the crime and also the defendant's criminal history. However before the three strike law none of those crimes carried a life sentence.