Recently I’ve become intrigued by Judge Judy type small claims court TV shows. They offer a fascinating look at how little some people know about the legal system. Here’s what America learned in the past week or so:
(Image from Judge Joe Brown)
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@TechnoDestructo:
You haven’t read many SCOTUS transcripts, then!
The judges will frequently berate lawyers on both sides, though they often use more subtle barbs.
@httpdotcom:
Oh, and the vast majority of time the SCOTUS spends on a decision is in writing the opinions. They spend months on that aspect alone, because every single letter of the majority opinion has to be cross-referenced against thousands of legal cases. Single-word changes can affect hundreds of appeals and can overturn thousands of convictions.
@MercuryPDX:
True, but while Sheindlin is selling laundry soap et. al to the viewers of a reality-tv/soap opera/Geraldo mashup, Judge Ginsburg helps to shape the course of nations. 15 minutes after Judge Judy goes off the air Sheindlin will be forgotten. Judge Ginsburg’s decisions and the direction she’s taken her court will reverberate for decades…if not centuries.
All that AND a $200,000 per year paycheck AND a life of public service? Where do I sign up?
Judge Judy is the best judge! But I feel sorry for her husband.
I watched People’s Court with Wapner and also with the new judge. The best part was if the judge would ask for a receipt; if they had one they tended to win, if not they’d lose.
Judge Judy should be working and ruling in a real courtroom again. She takes no crap from anybody. Her experience and knowledge sees right through people that are lying.
She even admits the times her own son tried to pull a fast one on her. If we had more Mothers like her out there, these kid’s that run around acting tough, robbing people, gang banging, tagging and everything else illegal would end that day.
It actually depresses me when I watch those shows. They really showcase the worst of people.
@TheKel: Yes, these and the Cops and Elima-date shows are a little bit too real for me. I actually don’t want to be reminded how truly dumb some (a lot?) of people are.
It’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that this is what a majority of American life is truly like.
Where’s the love for Judge Wap’s new show? Animal Court!!!
@httpdotcom: Do you really think they show every minute of the case? (live or not) I would have to assume they edit the cases so that only the most relevant/humorous points are covered. It’s like poker on tv, they only show you ~2% of the entire action, that being the most exciting hands and coverage of famous players. They don’t air the 90% of folding and silence that actually is most prevalent in poker tournaments.
@CHOUCHOU Same place they probably find people for Jerry Springer. That’s a show where I can’t believe the people are so stupid.
Jerry: So, John, how’s your relationship with Jane?
John: Oh, it’s great. She’s a wonderful person, [ad nauseum]
If John had a clue, it’d go like:
Jerry: So, John, how’s your relationship with Jane?
John: It was great until I got your invite to the show. She’s really my brother after a gender-reassignment operation, isn’t she?
@guroth: They call the cops all the time, I love seeing the stories of people calling the cops cause whoever stole their drugs and I want them arrested. This country is dumb! (And getting dumber)
@SacraBos: Springer is a great place to be an audience member, funniest shit I have EVER seen in person.
My husband TiVos Judge Mathis, and watches it like a part time job. Mathis is the only one that does it for him…although occassionally he will watch that lesbian judge who is on TPC now if the TiVo suggests it.
I have to say that I hate those shows, but still find myself watching people get dressed down in utter delight. It’s a guilty pleasure.
I believe that in the end, the TV judges are not in session much more than the SCOTUS judges because they film upwards of a week’s worth of episodes each day of filming. So, they probably film for about 15-20 weeks per year.
As others have mentioned, they don’t have nearly the writing assignments though.
The greatest Judge Judy is available on YouTube (which I would link to, but I am at work and it’s blocked). You should seek it out though, because it’s brilliant.
Lady A bought a camera off of eBay from Lady B. Lady A receives in the mail a photocopied picture of said camera. Lady B argues up and down that the listing was for a “photo of a camera,” explaining how the wording of the listing works and all that, and for a while it looks bad for Lady A. But then Judge Judy realizes that Lady B is a dumbass and had cut and pasted the description of the camera into her listing, including the weight. And since the weight of the photocopy was much less than the weight in the listing, it proved fraud and Judge Judy reported Lady B to the AG. It was so awesome.
Amen to the Judy-for-everybody’s-mom crowd.
And to add to the semi-hijacking of the thread, my favorite Wapner case was a guy suing for 50 cents because he bought a beer from a vending machine and it was flat. He sued the store, not the distributor or the vending company. For 50 cents.
That was Wapner holding back at his best, he was the only person who saw that case who didn’t yell “You’re an idiot!”, though he did come close. I fully expected him to dig two quarters out of his robe and take a recess to compose himself.
@kelmeister: Yep, I’ve seen that one. It was awesome.
@DrGirlfriend: That always makes me nuts (in a good way). I can’t get over the fact that people think they can go to court to solve a dispute that involves them breaking the law.
@kelmeister: I saw that one, it was awesome, and here it is.
The best episodes of any court show are the ones where scammers and jerks get busted.
@SpdRacer: Man am I glad someone brought up Springer. EVERY time I visit Chicago, I try to get tickets. Too bad I always miss taping season, and the tickets sell out way in advance. That stuff borders on avant-garde.
@rectilinear Just saw the video. Judy couldn’t be more upset, you can almost tell she wants to leap the bench and strangle this woman. The amazing thing, is that this Kelli-scammer still doesn’t get she’s committing fraud and is somehow more clever than Judge Judy.
@spdracer I think it’s amazing that “Steve” almost has a cult following. It probably would be fun to go to a JS taping, but I think I’d need a full-body sand-blasting to get rid of that dirty feeling.
@MercuryPDX: what does that say for the future of umanity? Truly we are doomed.
Humanity I mean. I guess i didn’t read that comment about proofreading before i hit submit
@guroth: “I want to see someone take someone else to small claims court for stealing their illegal drugs.”
I saw it on Judge Alex ; ) I watch about six of these shows every day because I’m a receptionist and the tv is on in the waiting room. So I get Divorce Court, Judge Hatchett, Christina’s Court, Judge Alex, Judge Joe Brown, AND Judge Judy. I have much less faith in humanity than I used to.
The funny part is this all boils down to never trust a woman.
A sad commentary on America that someone would sue their daughter for anything (much less for kicking them out of the house and having to pay for hotel costs).
Judge Judy is a douche bag. I’m sorry, I’ve always thought so.
Do they have these types of shows in England, or anywhere else for that matter? People wonder why we’re considered a “developed” country. I am amazed everyday. How do people not fall down more?
@johnnyboi1016:
The big-money tables are always chatty, though it is bad etiquette to BS while someone is trying to bet.
@ KELMEISTER
I saw that episode and I have it saved to my favorites on youtube. That was one of the BEST episodes. Judge Judy was brilliant in that episode.
Judge Judy is the BEST Judge On Television. She is tougher then hell. I am petrified of her, haha. What a GROUCH, lol.