Special Victims Unit, but felt the casting on Leap Years was a "rare opportunity." Gossip blogger Roger Friedman reported that Richard Belzer arranged for Hurd to be fired because her character was receiving too many storylines and distracting attention from him, but that report was never confirmed. Although Jeffries departed from the Special Victims Unit during the episode "Asunder," her character was still present in the episode "Runaway," which marked the character's final appearance. "Runaway" was originally intended to air before "Asunder" but was broadcast out of order; and thus new scenes were filmed to present the episode as a "flashback". The retcon explanation in "Runaway" is that Detective Jeffries transferred to Vice and briefly stepped into the SVU squad room again when they were in need of extra manpower for a case. Hurd was replaced by rapper-turned-actor Ice-T, who began portraying Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola. Stephanie March joined the cast as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot when the series was using many guest actors and actresses to portray ADA characters in the first season. Tamara Tunie took on the recurring role of Medical Examiner Melinda Warner, replacing Leslie Hendrix's Law & Order character Chief Medical Examiner Elizabeth Rodgers. BD Wong began portraying FBI Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. George Huang closer to the end of the season, replacing Dr. Emil Skoda (J. K. Simmons). Cast Main cast Christopher Meloni as Senior Detective Elliot Stabler Mariska Hargitay as Junior Detective Olivia Benson Richard Belzer as Senior Detective John Munch Michelle Hurd as Junior Detective Monique Jeffries (episodes 1, 7 and 16) Stephanie March as Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Cabot (episodes 2–21) Ice-T as Junior Detective Odafin "Fin" Tutuola (episodes 2–21) Dann Florek as Captain Donald "Don" Cragen Crossover stars J. K. Simmons as Dr. Emil Skoda (crossing over with Law & Order) Carolyn McCormick as Dr. Elizabeth Olivet (crossing over with Law & Order) Recurring cast Doris Belack as Judge Margaret Barry BD Wong as Dr. George Huang Lou Carbonneau as Crime Scene Unit Forensics Technician Harry Martin Frank Deal as Defense Attorney Don Newvine Kent Cassella as Detective Palmieri Brian Keane as Dr Peters Joanna Merlin as Judge Lena Petrovsky Jeffrey DeMunn as Chief Assistant District Attorney Charlie Phillips Harvey Atkin as Judge Alan Ridenour Rob Bartlett as Defense Attorney Milton Schoenfeld Tom O'Rourke as Judge Mark Seligman Isabel Gillies as Kathy Stabler Erin Broderick as Maureen Stabler Brian O'Neill as