Judge Judy's Longtime Bailiff Gets New Courtroom Show on Freevee, Tribunal, With Judith Sheindlin Set to EP

Judge Judy and her longtime bailiff Petri Hawkins Byrd are reuniting after all, following a very public split.

Byrd will once again serve as bailiff on the new courtroom show Tribunal, which has landed a series order at Amazon Freevee, our sister site Deadline reports. Freevee (formerly known as IMDb TV) is also the home of Judith “Judge Judy” Sheindlin’s new show Judy Justice, and Sheindlin will serve as creator and executive producer on Tribunal as well.

Tribunal will be a panel-based show featuring two judges from the Sheindlin-produced syndicated series Hot Bench — Patricia DiMango and Tanya Acker — along with former district attorney (and Sheindlin’s son) Adam Levy. The panel of three judges will adjudicate real cases together, using video to allow viewers to follow the events surrounding each case.

Byrd will be the show’s bailiff, as he was alongside Sheindlin for 25 years of the daytime hit Judge Judy. When Judy Justice was announced, however, Byrd’s name was conspicuously missing. (Kevin Rasco replaces Byrd as the new bailiff.) Byrd said last fall that Sheindlin “informed me I was not being asked to come along on the project” because “my salary would have been too much.” But “she didn’t ask me,” he notes. “She didn’t give me an opportunity to have accepted a lower salary.”

Sheindlin released a statement at the time saying that “Byrd is terrific and we had a great 25 year run.” But, she added, “this is a whole new program with a whole new cast and an exciting energy.” Judy Justice debuted in November on Freevee and has since been renewed for a second season.

As for Tribunal, it “is an exciting new format which combines traditional court with a video-enhanced presentation,” Sheindlin said in a statement. “The panel of judges offer a dynamic combination of different backgrounds, experiences, and opinions that are unique, unparalleled, and compelling.”