By JIM FITZGERALD
Associated Press

WHITE PLAINS - Former Westchester District Attorney Jeanine Pirro is becoming a judge - on a new TV show that plans to make use of her "life experience."

The CW network announced Monday that Pirro, who has television experience as a commentator on legal cases, will be the presiding jurist on "Judge Jeanine Pirro" weekday afternoons beginning Sept. 22.

Pirro has "a powerful and dynamic television presence with a distinctive point of view, and depth of professional and life experience," said Hilary Estey McLoughlin, president of Telepictures Productions, which is making the show.

Pirro, 56, was once a rising star in New York's Republican Party. She was a popular Westchester County judge, a big winner in three consecutive runs for district attorney and once was chosen for People magazine's "most beautiful" issue.

Her wealthy husband, Albert Pirro, seemed to hold her back with his own problems, including a paternity suit and a federal tax-fraud conviction. The Pirros announced in November that they were separating.

Jeanine Pirro in 2005 challenged Hillary Rodham Clinton in a run for the U.S. Senate, but her campaign opened disastrously when a page of her announcement was misplaced and she was speechless for 32 seconds. Pirro eventually switched to the race for state attorney general, but was easily defeated by Democrat Andrew Cuomo.

After she left office, her performance as district attorney was questioned. A convicted murderer released due to new DNA evidence claimed that Pirro had turned a deaf ear to his claims of innocence, which she denied. In another murder case, a federal judge found that Pirro's office had withheld evidence so important that the convicted killer deserved to be set free.

Meanwhile, Pirro came under federal investigation because she allegedly spoke with former New York City police Commissioner Bernard Kerik about how she could secretly record her husband when she suspected him of having an affair. No charges were filed against her.

Ken Werner, president of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, which is distributing the show, said, "Although some think the genre is overcrowded, we believe viewers will flock to Jeanine, who is a fresh face with a distinctive voice."