Petri Hawkins Byrd
Petri Hawkins Byrd is a former court officer turned court show bailiff on Judge Judy and Tribunal Justice.
He's also an actor, with credits including Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and The Bold and the Beautiful.
To watch the interview with Petri Hawkins Byrd, click the play button below (or click here to open the video player in a new tab/window).
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Mike Reflects
I've wanted to interview Byrd for years, at this point.
I remember calling around to try to book him back in 2012 or 2013 when Judge Judy was still on the air, so I'm glad I finally got the opportunity.
Watching him on Judge Judy, I was fascinated by his role. As he mentioned in the interview, when one thinks of a bailiff or court officer, the first/primary role that comes to mind is that of protecting the judge.
Since Byrd had the training and experience to act in the capacity, I was especially curious to find out if that found its way to the TV show.
I wasn't especially surprised when the answer essentially amounted to “not really”, but it was an interesting look at the choices they made and how/why they made them.
There's always a question how much of “reality” TV is actually reality, especially when it comes to court shows like Judge Judy.
I think interviews like this are a great opportunity to explore what's actually happening behind the scenes and what decisions and thoughts go into making those shows.
It was also interesting to hear about how things were changed for Tribunal Justice to accommodate the unique format of the show.
I think a lot of people can forget that even the most simple, obvious idea for a show like that still doesn't just happen, and, again, I think this interview was a great look at that.