ALBANY — An Albany County prosecutor who once ballyhooed herself on Court TV as the “Queen of Crime” was nearly crowned by Judge Andra Ackerman earlier this week in a royal reprimand that included a threat to hold her in contempt.
The judge scolded Assistant District Attorney Seema Iyer for her response to a May 14 bail application filed by Assistant Public Defender Rebekah Sokol on behalf of Harvey Forrest, 50, who is facing attempted murder and felony assault charges in the stabbing of his former roommate. The prosecutor, an attorney since 1998 who has provided legal analysis on CNN and MSNBC, including a stint on Court TV starting in 2019, began working for District Attorney David Soares last August.
Forrest’s trial had been scheduled to begin May 15. Ackerman adjourned it to June 20 after Sokol wrote in her bail application that the stabbing victim’s mental health-related hospital records, described as voluminous, had not been made available to the defense. Sokol asked the judge to lower Forrest’s bail from $100,000 bond to $40,000.
Iyer claimed that Sokol’s bail application and request to adjourn the trial was a strategic ploy that could result in Forrest not returning to court. In boldface type, Iyer boasted that prosecutors were “ready for trial” and the “defense is not” which, according to Iyer, gave Forrest more of an incentive to flee. Iyer said Sokol made an erroneous argument that the hospital records were not turned over to the defense.
And all of it rankled Ackerman, a former prosecutor, according to a transcript of the court proceeding obtained by the Times Union.
“Miss Iyer, you are an officer of the court. You are not on Court TV,” Ackerman said. “These are horrible things, some of them, that you have said.”
The judge reminded Iyer that Forrest had not had a conviction since 2004. And she told Iyer that in contrast to her insulting claims, Sokol was unable to subpoena records from a hospital without more information available to her.
“To me, it’s just an unfair …,” the judge said with a pause. “You just didn’t put any thought in that response at all. It’s ridiculous.”
Iyer responded, “Judge, I …”
But she was instantly cut off.
“No. I’m not done yet,” Ackerman said.
The judge told Iyer that Sokol was not making an erroneous argument. She said Sokol had every right to the hospital records.
“You are an officer of the court,” the judge told Iyer. “You need to remember that when you respond to these applications because it’s insulting to read.”
Sokol told the judge that Iyer’s “insinuations that somehow I would be trying to help my client not appear in court is just beyond insulting and it’s 100 percent not true.”
Ackerman agreed. She said Iyer “has a history of saying things that I find are inappropriate and this just went over the edge for me.”
Just then, Iyer flashed a look that did not sit well with Ackerman.
“Now you want to roll your eyes at me. I’ll hold you in contempt,” the judge told Iyer.
“Judge, I was …” Iyer began to respond.
“I’m not talking to you,” Ackerman told Iyer. “You don’t speak when I’m talking. It is incredibly rude of you and I have just had it. I’ve had it.”
Iyer declined to comment.
In a statement, Soares spokesman Darrell Camp told the Times Union: “We cannot comment on any statements made in court, but we fully support Assistant District Attorney Iyer, who is a dedicated member of our office.”
In an advertisement for her former career on Court TV, Iyer said: “I’m Seema Iyer. Some people say I’m tough. Maybe it’s because I was a prosecutor in the Bronx. I may have earned it as a lawyer representing the NYPD. Or, it’s because of my expertise in forensic science. Sure, some people call me tough, but on Court TV, they call me Queen of Crime.”
In 2019, the Times Union published an Associated Press report that quoted Iyer saying that she leaped at the Court TV job for the rare opportunity to use her skills to address and help viewers as smart and obsessed as the anchors.
“They’ll fact-check us,” Iyer said in the interview. “We can’t make mistakes.”