Judy Sheindlin, the television personality known to millions as Judge Judy, is preparing to step away from her decades-long television career, with the reins of her courtroom franchise passing to her son Adam Levy, a former Putnam County district attorney.
A representative for Sheindlin confirmed to Fox News Digital that Levy will take over a new courtroom program called “Adam’s Law,” which Sheindlin created and executive produces. The show premieres in national syndication on Monday, Sept. 14. “She is not retiring, just rewiring,” the representative said.
Sheindlin, 83, told People magazine she intends to leave television once her current Prime Video series, “Judy Justice,” concludes in October. “I have a lot of other things of interest,” she said. “I don’t want to do hair and makeup anymore, but I still want my message to get out there.”
Levy’s path to hosting his own courtroom show ran through Putnam County. A graduate of Hofstra Law School, he worked as a ski instructor before entering private practice and later serving as Putnam County’s district attorney. He moved into television in 2023 with the Prime Video series “Tribunal Justice.”
His mother expressed confidence in his ability to carry the new program on his own. “There aren’t a lot of people who can carry a half hour on their own unscripted,” Sheindlin said. “He has what it takes.”
A Long Career on the Bench and on TV
Sheindlin graduated from New York Law School in 1965 and began working as a prosecutor in 1972, handling juvenile crime, domestic violence and child-abuse cases. After retiring from family court, she launched “Judge Judy” in 1996, a syndicated show that ran for 25 seasons until 2021 and at its peak drew an estimated 10 million viewers. She became widely known for her blunt courtroom manner and sharp one-liners.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times in June 2021 about the show’s impact, Sheindlin said: “So many of the emails and letters I get are from women who watched me and had their daughters watch me. They told me the show helped them take the next step, whether it was getting a divorce, leaving an abusive person, asking for a raise and never, ever becoming somebody’s prisoner.”
Sheindlin’s granddaughter, Sarah Rose, told Fox News Digital in November 2022 that despite her grandmother’s tough public image, she has a softer side. “[She taught me] not to let anybody else define you but yourself,” Sarah Rose said. “You have to have a good feeling about yourself and be confident in yourself. And, really, if you have that as a foundation, the opportunities are endless for where your journey might lead.”
Sarah Rose added that Sheindlin is often “the first person I call if I have a problem or a question or something that needs to get solved,” calling her “a fantastic problem solver, especially for the ones that she loves.”
