<P> Byrd was born in the neighborhood of Crown Heights, Brooklyn . After graduating from Eastern District High School, he attended Hostos Community College in The Bronx . </P> <P> Byrd started work as a court officer for the Brooklyn circuit of the New York City Court System . In 1986 he was transferred to the Family Court division in Manhattan . It was in this capacity that Byrd met Judge Judith Sheindlin, who was the Supervising Family Court Judge for Manhattan . In 1989 Hawkins - Byrd obtained a criminal justice degree from John Jay College . 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 . In the nineties, he worked as a security guard at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, California . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> 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 . 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 . </P>

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