MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- You've seen him on our newscasts many times, but never like this. Milwaukee County Court Commissioner Barry Phillips has a powerful and poignant way of addressing people accused of crimes. CBS 58's Jessob Reisbeck sat down with Phillips to get to know the man behind the bench in an exclusive one-on-one interview. 

Barry Phillips CBS 58

"Maybe it's from growing up in Brooklyn and seeing some of the things I've seen and been through -- some of the things that I've been through," said Phillips. "I think it's prepared me for this." 

Barry Phillips was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1967. Growing up in the 70s and 80s, Brooklyn was -- in his words -- "interesting." 

"If you wore something nice, you had to worry about someone taking it," Phillips said. 

Phillips lived in the Brevoort projects with his mom, stepdad, brother, and grandparents. 

"I had a great childhood. Living in the projects, where I lived, it was a big family affair. Everybody got along. You learned a lot of things. You saw a lot of things that maybe you shouldn't, unfortunately, but it was a beautiful thing," he said.

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"Some of us went to jail, some of us got killed. Some of us was strung out on drugs, but we managed to stay focused because we had each other," said Kevin Williams, Phillips' cousin. 

Barry Phillips CBS 58

Barry had his cousin, Kevin Williams, and a good head on his shoulders. He stayed away from the streets and did well in school, but he hated math. 

"I told her, why do I have to do math? All I have to do is know how to count money," said Phillips. 

He was debating with his third-grade teacher, Ms. Harris, and their back and forth led to some advice that would change his life. 

"She said, 'You know what? You should be a lawyer.' I said, 'Why, why is that?' Because I didn't know what a lawyer was in third grade," said Phillips. "She said, 'Because they like to argue.' And I said, 'You're right. I'm going to be a lawyer.'" 

And he did. After graduating from John Jay High School in Brooklyn, Barry did his undergrad at Central State University before going to law school at Indiana University. 

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"Now I got this big ol' diploma sitting on my wall," said Phillips. 

After law school, Phillips wanted to work in Chicago, but they had a hiring freeze. So, when Wisconsin's public defender's office came calling, he reluctantly answered. Thanks to a buddy who wanted to go to the NCAA basketball tournament at the Bradley Center. 

"You set up an appointment, I'll go see if I can get some tickets, we'll make a weekend of it," he said.

Phillips did the interview but cut it short. 

"And I say, 'I mean no disrespect, I really don't, but I got tickets to the game across the street!' And I know that was arrogant and ballsy but that's what you gotta be to be a public defender. And they hired me." 

Phillips spent 12-and-a-half years as a public defender in Milwaukee. 

"I was guns blazing," he said. "I was a zealous advocate for my clients... and they said, you know what, Barry, I think you'd be a good commissioner." 

Barry Phillips CBS 58

He took the commissioner job in 2004, and now, over 20 years later, he's well respected, well known, and at times, he's must-watch television. 

"Those are probably the three things that a judge or a court commissioner has to have. They have to be fair. They have to have a great temperament, and they have to have integrity." 

Retired Milwaukee judge Dennis Cimple is Barry's friend and mentor. 

Dennis Cimple CBS 58

"He is very intense and very in tune to everything," said Cimple. 

Phillips is currently the commissioner of Milwaukee County's intake court, deciding people's bail after they're arrested. 

"He doesn't preach to them. He doesn't talk down to them. He talks to them like they're people," said Cimple. "He gets his point across that, look, if what you did is proven, what you did is terrible." 

"I treat them all the same," Phillips said. "I really do." 

He listens to the state and to the defense, he reads the criminal complaint and looks at their prior record. 

"I made a decision based on that," said Phillips. 

He deals with everything from driving without a license, to murder. 

"I do believe in second chances," said Phillips. "I believe everybody deserves a second chance. So, it's rough when I get young adults in front of me that have never been in trouble before." 

It's a job that would weigh heavily on most people. 

"Because what you see every day, it has to be a lot, and I don't know if there's something wrong with me because I don't feel that way. I just do the job." 

Barry Phillips CBS 58

After doing that job for more than two decades, and doing it very well, there's now talk about the next step up. 

"I've told Barry many times, you're being wasted as a court commissioner, you ought to become a judge," Cimple said. 

"I don't believe I'm wasting my talent. Do I believe I could be a judge? Of course I do." 

"He will be sitting behind the bench with a robe on. I believe that," said Williams.

"I just don't know if that's the direction I want to go, but let's just say what my friends are saying are not falling on deaf ears," Phillips said. 

Phillips says he could retire right now if he wanted, but he's not ready. He has a wife, two sons, and two grandkids.