Petri Hawkins-Byrd

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Petri Hawkins Byrd (born November 1957) is the bailiff on Judge Judy, the top-rated, Emmy-nominated, syndicated courtroom series, which has been on the air since 1996.

Byrd is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice and received his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice in 1989. While attending college, Byrd worked as a court officer in the Brooklyn Family Court system. In 1986, he was transferred to the Manhattan Family Court system, where he worked on a rotating basis with all the judges, including Judge Judy. "I was never bored in her courtroom," muses Byrd. "Her get-to-the-point style didn't always sit well with the litigants, and there were times she was definitely glad to have me around."

In 1990, Byrd relocated to San Mateo, California, and became a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal. In 1993, Byrd accepted an offer to work as a student counselor at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, CA. ^[1] His main role is to introduce the cases. Unlike most baliffs, Byrd is rather frank, even with Judge Judy.