When it comes to scoring VIP DNA, Adam Levy hit the\u00a0motherlode.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the lawyer and former District Attorney of Putnam County, New York, isn\u2019t robing up to preside over his first solo daytime courtroom show, \u201cAdam\u2019s Law,\u201d debuting September 14, simply because his mother\u2019s the renowned Judge Judith \u201cJudy\u201d Sheindlin<\/a>.<\/p>\n Instead, the lean, mean litigating machine is taking the bench to, hopefully, inspire the next generation of would-be punks, perps and politicians alike to \u201cDo better\u201d \u2014 and to\u00a0prove that a \u201cnepo baby\u201d label isn\u2019t the golden ticket that earns him a seat at the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n Adam Levy is taking the bench this fall on \u201cAdam\u2019s Law,\u201d handing down judgments against folks in the wrong. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cDespite the fact that I have a famous mother, I got the chops as well,\u201d Levy, 57, exclusively told The Post, insisting his forthcoming Connecticut-set CBS program won\u2019t be just a repackaged facsimile of the iconic \u201cJudge Judy\u201d series, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary on Sept. 16.\u00a0<\/p>\n Levy\u2019s \u201cchops,\u201d legal prowess he developed as a Hofstra Law School grad-turned-criminal defense attorney, prosecutor and jurist on Amazon\u2019s \u201cTribunal Justice\u201d (an ongoing 3-season reality court show produced by his mother), shine as the credentials that certify him as a real deal adjudicator, rather than just\u00a0another lucky celebrity kid<\/a>\u00a0who hit the biological jackpot via nepotism.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the era of the baller nepo babies \u2014 when A-list offspring are reportedly\u00a0receiving $1 million monthly allowances<\/a>, and securing top spots\u00a0on magazine covers <\/a>and\u00a0silver screens<\/a>\u00a0as perks of their pedigrees \u2014\u00a0\u00a0Levy stands out as the antithesis of the trend.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n And the Bronx native\u2019s no-nonsense mama, the executive producer of his show \u2014 thus, the boss of him \u2014 wouldn\u2019t be passing her son the torch, trusting him to ensure that the family business doesn\u2019t go up in flames, if she didn\u2019t believe he\u2019d keep her legal legacy strong for the next 30 years to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShe told me, \u2018Now\u2019s the time,\u2019\u201d Levy laughed, recalling Sheindlin\u2019s recent demand he take on daytime TV on his own.<\/p>\n Levy, the star of \u201cAdam\u2019s Law,\u201d told The Post that although he\u2019s proud of his mother\u2019s iconic work, he hopes to leave his own mark on daytime courtroom television. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Her marching orders came just as the avid snow skier was suiting up to hit the slopes for some extended downtime away from busting bad guys on- and off-camera, after the third season of \u201cTribunal Justice\u201d premiered this past March.<\/p>\n \u201cI tried to get out, but she pulled me back in,\u201d teased Levy. \u201cNow that she\u2019s asked me to come in, I understand that some might say, \u2018Well those are pretty big shoes to fill.\u2019 And they are.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m here to fill my own shoes and to put my own stamp on it,\u201d he said, \u201cI\u2019m confident in my own style.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Distinguishing himself from Sheindlin\u2019s unmistakable savoir-faire \u2014 a style made complete by her signature \u201cBaloney!\u201d rebuke and quickness to kick slicksters out of her courtroom \u2014 Levy plans to take a more methodical approach to the small claims cases that will come across his desk for the new show.\u00a0<\/p>\n Beefs between feuding family members, scorned ex-lovers and irate tenants with axes to grind against shady landlords.\u00a0Disputes that even cause him and Sheindlin to bump heads at times.<\/p>\n \u201cAdam\u2019s Law\u201d comes as a new, buzzy daytime courtroom show by CBS Media Ventures and Queen Bee Productions. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t agree on all the cases,\u201d said Levy. \u201cI talk with her sometimes if I have an issue with a case, she\u2019ll give me her thoughts, I\u2019ll push back.\u201d<\/p>\n Rather than rushing to his own conclusions, or revering Sheindlin\u2019s word as law, Levy spends hours, sometimes days, reviewing the evidence, such as background information, contracts, photos, emails and texts, ahead of each proceeding.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI am hyper-focused on the cases that I get the week before,\u201d he explained. \u201cSome judges just get the materials a few days in advance, read the pleadings \u2014 the complaint from the plaintiff and the answer from the defendant \u2014 and boom, they\u2019ve prepped the case in 20 minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n But a wham, bam, thank you ma\u2019am rush job simply won\u2019t suffice in Levy\u2019s court \u2014 even if it is just an exquisitely decked out set on a soundstage <\/p>\n \u201cWe get to the bottom [of an issue],\u201d he bragged of himself and his team of legal pros and producers. \u201cWe get to the truth. That\u2019s what\u2019s important.\u201d<\/p>\n For Levy, taking his judicial talents to TV isn\u2019t about becoming an overnight sensation or outpacing his mom in Emmy Award wins and Hollywood Walk of Fame star accolades. Instead, it\u2019s a calling he\u2019s been ready to answer since elementary school.<\/p>\n Levy hopes to enjoy even a portion of the success his mother achieved during her decades-long stint as the daytime courtroom queen on \u201cJudge Judy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSince the fourth grade I knew I wanted to be a lawyer, and I knew I wanted to be a prosecutor \u2014 [my mother] was a prosecutor and supervising judge in the New York City Family Court. I saw her doing that when I was young,\u201d said Levy, who learned the hard way that following in Sheindlin\u2019s footsteps wouldn\u2019t be a cakewalk.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOn Halloween, I\u2019d dress up as a lawyer. I got bullied,\u201d he chuckled. \u201cBut it was good. It gave me tough skin.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n That tough skin toughened him up to become a sometimes \u201cmischievous\u201d teenager growing up in the Big Apple during the 1970s and 80s, when getting into trouble or winding up in danger was as simple as sitting next to the wrong guy on the bus.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Levy credits the city, as well as bumps in the road he encountered (or created) throughout adolescence, with making him a swift judge of character \u2014 a gift that comes in handy as the final word on \u201cAdam\u2019s Law.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI learned very early in life how to go about cross-examining someone who was not telling the truth [to] get to the truth,\u201d said the authority. \u201cYou had to be able to size people up very quickly when you were out in public. The aggressiveness, the stance, the stare downs.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd after many years of that, it just kind of sunk in.\u201d<\/p>\n Levy is supported by law clerk Jessica Ramirez (Left) and bailiff Rodney Young during each juicy courtroom proceeding. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n Now seated upon his hardwood throne, an on-set pedestal positioned between law clerk Jessica Ramirez and bailiff Rodney Young, Levy utilizes both his book- and street-smarts (plus the lessons he learned at Sheindlin\u2019s knee) to hand down fair judgments while under the spotlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, there\u2019s only one truth. If you try to fudge that truth\u2026[I\u2019m going to give] you enough rope to hang yourself,\u201d Levy cautioned scammers thinking about pulling a fast one in his house.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to come in with whatever evidence I know contradicts your claims, and it\u2019s not going to be pleasant for you,\u201d he warned.\u00a0<\/p>\n After making wrongdoers writhe in shame, Hizzoner seals the verbal spankings with a stern scolding: \u201cDo better!\u201d<\/p>\n He dishes it to a woman who stiffed a grandmother out of a nearly $4,000 loan on an episode. He later fastballs it to a snooty diva who argued that, for her, operating a vehicle sans a valid driver\u2019s license wasn\u2019t a crime because she\u2019s just \u201cso pretty.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The newcomer to daytime TV is handing down judgments with tough love for difficult litigants. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n But Levy\u2019s not easily swayed by fast-talkers nor pretty faces.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cDo better means be a better person,\u201d he tells The Post. \u201cIf you know you\u2019ve done something wrong, do the right thing [to make the other person whole].\u201d<\/p>\n Levy advises the powers that be of NYC to\u00a0do better, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe\u00a0soft-on-crime approach<\/a>\u00a0that we\u2019ve seen since 2016 and 2017 [is] super concerning,\u201d he said, taking a swipe at lawmakers, judges, prosecutors and New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg \u2014\u00a0oft-slammed by critics<\/a>\u00a0for villainizing victims while going easy on suspects.\u00a0<\/p>\n Levy suggests lenient officials try taking the subway, unaccompanied by any security detail, or opening up halfway houses in their own cushy neighborhoods, forcing them to live amongst violent repeat offenders, rather than releasing wrongdoers into communities full of hapless innocents.\u00a0<\/p>\n Levy\u2019s \u201cDo better\u201d admonishment is a message to folks on both sides of the law. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cAll [the politicians] are doing is putting all those good hardworking people \u2014 taking the subway every day, being out on the streets at night going to whatever jobs just to put food on the table \u2014 is making less safe for them. For what?\u201d he barked. \u201cIt is absolute insanity to me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it\u2019s not going to get any better until it gets worse.\u201d<\/p>\n For his part in making the world a better place, righting low-level wrongs on the small screen, Levy is guided by a few words of wisdom from Sheindlin, as well as his wife, Lori.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMy wife would say, \u2018Adam, you can\u2019t do very much. You can\u2019t build anything or fix anything.\u2019 But when it comes to trying cases, she says, \u2018There\u2019s no one better at it,\u2019\u201d he blushed, committed to meeting Lori\u2019s expectations with every swing of his gavel.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a commitment he\u2019s sure to fulfill thanks to the morals his mom\u2019s instilled.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sheindlin (center) with Levy (left), her husband Jerry Sheindlin, and children receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cIn our family we believe in cosmic dust. If you do the wrong thing someone up there [in the universe] is gonna give you your just desserts. Karma is a b- -ch,\u201d said Levy.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cBut when good things happen, you can chalk it up to cosmic dust because you\u2019ve done the right thing,\u201d he continued. \u201cThat\u2019s what she\u2019s taught all of the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n And Sheindlin, a mother of five, grandmother of 13, and TV icon to millions, isn\u2019t done schooling her adult son in the ways of doing things right by her standards.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I started \u2018Adam\u2019s Law\u2019 she gave me a very direct piece of advice,\u201d remembered Levy.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Don\u2019t screw this up!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When it comes to scoring VIP DNA, Adam Levy hit the\u00a0motherlode.\u00a0 But the lawyer and former District Attorney…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3015,9461,419,62699,11442,68,122232,4234,9340,232,66379,9,24,56,63,65,64,2556],"class_list":["post-324518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-alvin-bragg","tag-celebrity-children","tag-courts","tag-daytime-tv","tag-district-attorneys","tag-exclusive","tag-judge-judy","tag-judges","tag-lawyers","tag-lifestyle","tag-nepotism","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-television"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}