Hot Bench is an American panel-based court show produced by Judge Judy Sheindlin together with other producers such as James Glover, Randy Douthit, and Maureen FitzPatrick. The show premiered on September 15, 2014, on CBS. It features a panel of three judges who preside over small claim cases.
Hot Bench was initially presided over by judges Patricia DiMango, Tanya Acker, and Larry Bakman. As with most televised court programs, the panel serves as an arbitral tribunal, and the cases are a form of binding arbitration in which the parties forego filing a lawsuit in favor of appearing on the program.
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Hot Bench Judges Salary 2024
According to various sources, Judges in the US earned a salary of between $231, 000 and $280, 000 annually. Since Hot Bench judges are real and qualified judges, they are paid a salary of between $150, 000 to $400, 000 annually.
The Judges on Hot Bench
Judge Michael Corriero
Corriero serves as a judge on the court show program Hot Bench. He joined the show in 2016 replacing Judge Larry Bakman. He spent 28 years as a judge and criminal defense lawyer in the criminal courts of New York State before joining Hot Bench. Corriero also worked as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office under Frank Hogan.
For 16 years, he ruled over the Manhattan Youth Part of the Supreme Court of New York State, a special court he established to concentrate attention and limited resources on juvenile offenders tried as adults under the Juvenile Offender Law of New York State.
The Youth Part developed into a prototype for organizing and coordinating treatment and social services for kids accused of crimes in adult courts under Judge Corriero’s visionary guidance. To take the position of Executive Director of “Big Brothers Big Sisters,” he resigned from the bench in 2008.
Judge Yodit Tewolde
Tewolde is not very new to TV shows. She previously hosted a criminal justice show “Making the Case,” on BNC.  She also hosted America’s Most Wanted and covered major trials as the morning anchor for Court TV.
Tewolde started as an Assistant District Attorney with the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office, where she developed her courtroom lawyering abilities while learning the nuances of criminal prosecution. Judge Tewolde switched to criminal defense work after several years of prosecuting cases in both the adult and juvenile courts.
She didn’t have to wait long before the National Bar Association named her one of the best attorneys under 40 in the country. Tewolde has a well-established track record as a trial lawyer and is a fervent supporter of criminal justice reform.
Her legal knowledge has been highlighted on numerous high-profile television networks. She frequently makes appearances on CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, and HLN to offer judicial commentary on well-known cases and contentious topics.
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Judge Rachel Juarez
In her early career, Juarez worked on high-profile cases. She has represented clients such as Mattel, Google, and Samsung. Juarez co-founded a family law firm in 2016 that specializes in representing wealthy clients in complex divorce cases and other family law issues.
Juarez was chosen to serve as a Temporary Judge by the Los Angeles County Superior Court Temporary Judge Program after several years of running her own law business. Judge Juarez now presides at The Hot Bench show alongside Judge Corriero and Judge Tewolde.
Bailiff Sonia Montejano
Officer Montejano, as she is popularly known is the bailiff of the Hot Bench court show. After graduating from college, Montejano joined the Los Angeles County Marshal’s Department where she worked for around twenty years.
In 2006, she retired from LASD (after it was merged with LACMD) as Senior Deputy. Montejano then worked at the Beverly Hills Courthouse where she participated in high-profile celebrities’ criminal trials. She then joined the “Judge Joe Brown” show in which she was the bailiff until the show ended in 2013.
Previous Judges
Judge Larry Bakman
Judge Larry Bakman is a popular judge on various court TV shows. He was a judge on the Hot Bench series in its first two seasons from 2014 to 2016. Bakman left the show to focus more on his law practice. He currently practices in New York, California, and other federal courts. Bakman served as the city attorney for Los Angeles.
He then started working as a criminal defense attorney. He defended several cases that the US government filed under the RICO Act. One instance is a federal death sentence case in which his client was accused of committing three murders to further the interests of the Mexican Mafia. Bakman was cleared of all allegations following an eleven-month trial.
For the West Los Angeles Municipal Court and the Van Nuys Municipal Court, Bakman has held the position of Judge Pro Tem.
Is Judge Larry Bakman Married?
Yes, Bakman is married to his beautiful wife. They have two children together.
Judge Patricia DiMango
DiMango is now a retired justice of the Supreme Court of Kings County, New York. In 2002, she was chosen to serve as a judge on Kings County’s Supreme Court. DiMango was one of the first judges of Hot Bench alongside Judge Tanya Acker and Judge Larry Bakman. She left the show in 2022.
Judge Tanya Acker
Tanya Acker was a judge on Hot Bench alongside Judge Patricia DiMango and Judge Larry Bakman from 2014 to 2022. Tanya has participated in several high-profile cases including major automobile manufacturers, the Clinton v. Jones case, and was also a Temporary Judge in the Los Angeles County Superior Court Temporary Judge Program. Â
