Petri Hawkins-Byrd

Petri Hawkins-Byrd (born Petri Adonis Byrd;[1] November 29, 1957 Brooklyn, New York),[2][3] better known as Byrd, is a television personality, known for his role as bailiff on the court program Judge Judy.

Biography
Byrd was born in the neighborhood of Graytown Road in Jacksonville, NC as the youngest of five siblings. After graduating from Southwest High School, he attended Hostos Community College in The Bronx.[1]

Byrd started work as a court officer for the Brooklyn circuit of the New York CityCourt System. In 1986 he was transferred to the Family Court division in Manhattan. It was in this capacity that Byrd met Judge Judy Sheindlin, who was the Supervising Family Court Judge for Manhattan. In 1989 Hawkins-Byrd obtained a criminal justice degree from John Jay College.[4] A year later, he and his family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in California when he went to work for the United States Marshals Service.[1]

Judge Judy
In 1996, when Sheindlin was offered her own TV series, Byrd wrote her a congratulatory letter, saying: "If you ever need a bailiff, my uniform still fits." Judge Judy called him at home to offer him a role, which he accepted.[5]

To date, Byrd has been with the show for its entire run, making him the longest-running court show bailiff in history. His main role on the show consists of introducing cases (calling the parties forward, swearing the litigants, delivering the case number), delivering materials between the judge and the litigants, dismissing the parties, and escorting them out once the case is over. On several occasions, Byrd has had to play a larger role by controlling altercations or preventing potential altercations between the plaintiff(s) and the defendant(s). On occasions he has contacted litigants' parole officers or performed drug tests. Despite his limited speaking role and commenting only when addressed by Sheindlin for the most part, Byrd is often seen supplying surly and lackadaisical nonverbal expressions or exclamations.[6] Byrd will tell Sheindlin where she is wrong and is almost always able to provide answers in areas that Sheindlin is unaware of, such as on mathematics, current fads, technology, computer related subjects, etc.

Other activities
When not filming the Judge Judy series, Byrd works as an event M.C, guest speaker, charity supporter, and community activist.[1] He is the national chairman of the O.K. Program, which addresses social issues confronting young black males and is on the board of the faith-based youth program Teen Center USA.[1]

Filmography
2018 Reesie's Pieces (Short) Judge

2017 Curb Your Enthusiasm (TV Series) Judge Judy Bailiff

- The Shucker (2017) ... Judge Judy Bailiff

2017 Mandell & Friends (TV Series) Petri Hawkins-Byrd

- "Mandell & Friends" profiles Petri Hawkins-Byrd from "Judge Judy" (2017) ... Petri Hawkins-Byrd

2016 The 'N' Word (Short) Flint

2015 The Two Gamers (Short) ATM Man

2012 How I Met My Father (Short) Guard

2009 The Adventures of Umbweki Tribal Chef

2009 In the Eyes of a Killer Clarence

2007 A Deeper Love Lenny

2006 Everybody Hates Chris (TV Series) Man on Fire Escape

- Everybody Hates Elections (2006) ... Man on Fire Escape (as Petri Hawkins Byrd)

2005 Fugitive Hunter Judge

2002 Redemption of the Ghost Detective Meyers (as Petri Byrd)

2000 The Parkers (TV Series) Officer Duncan

- Get Me to the Church on Time (2000) ... Officer Duncan

2000 Playing Mona Lisa Fire Captain (as Petri-Hawkins Byrd)

1998 Akuji the Heartless (Video Game) Baron Samedi (voice)

1997 Nash Bridges (TV Series) Kevin Raskin

- Revelations (1997) ... Kevin Raskin