It's not that this episode isn't tautly written and directed because it is -- at least in terms of creating the drama. Christine Lahti deserves special mention for creating Sonya Paxton as a character who was both irritating and sympathetic, her bravado being a shield for her real problems. It's a bit contrived, but then SVU has always been the most contrived of the Law and Order series.
But the biggest flaw is Benson, and this is one of the episodes to show how wildly inconsistent her character is, and how the writers don't really care so long as they can show she's right. Benson is constantly on a high horse, but in earlier episodes, there was some self awareness to her pontificating, holier-than-thou personality. Here, there's none. The way she goes after both Paxton and the ostensible villain -- who we're still not sure is guilty by the end -- is very much the Benson we get today, who is too often a bigmouth crusader.
Here, though, her smugness is particularly awful. Yes, this is the Benson who tells convicted criminals she hopes they get raped in prison, you know, because that's in the rule book about justice. But she lights into Paxton -- who clearly is an alcoholic -- and the accused -- who clearly is an alcoholic -- as though their disease has absolutely no bearing on their situations. Contrast this with the many, many times Benson has argued exactly the opposite, especially if the issue is the victim.
So, if someone is too inebriated to remember if they gave consent, that absolutely cannot be used against them later when they accuse someone of assaulting them and who argues they did. However, if the accused is too inebriated to remember if they assaulted someone, that's absolutely no excuse to absolve them of the crime they're accused of.
Remember, insanity is doing the same thing more than once and expecting a different result. In this case, it's Shroedinger's drunkiness. Too drunk as the alleged victim, and you're not responsible. Too drunk as the alleged criminal, and you're absolutely responsible.
That she puts the screws to Paxton just makes it even worse. Benson and her fluid ability to marshal the same ideas and come to different conclusions is actually pretty scary. So, why is this episode part of the decline? Because it refuses to recognize Benson's erratic reasoning. We will see seasons later how awful it will get.