What People On Judge Judy Don't Know
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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Shouldn't. Sigh.
As a woman, I am not allowed to touch money, doors or chairs. BTW, I shop at WalMart and wear these really cool undies that say "who needs credit cards." I pay by vagina.
The first item on the list should be a given...
On the welfare fraud example, I like it when a defendant on one of those shows brings a claim to court, but then in the process reveals that they did something illegal too and then they get arrested. It's funny to see that some people get so outraged by their perception that someone is screwing them over that they forget that they should probably keep their mouths shut.
yeah, but if people used common sense, (a) they wouldn't be there and (b) judy would have no one to yell at. serene judy makes for sad viewers.
Something I learned reading The Consumerist:
If the post is not proofread and edited it will still get posted.
I <3 Judge Judy.
At times I feel like she is the last bastion of common sense in this world.
I'm addicted to court shows. People's Court is my favorite, then Judy. One thing I'm always baffled by is how people think they can withhold rent just because they are pissed off.
Ugh. Everyone watches these shows in the lunchroom. I supposed it's fun to play armchair judge - but I have enough yellow and shrill voices every day WITHOUT TV.
Nova's more my thing...
@MercuryPDX: Agreed. It is so satisfying to watch her verbally machete her way through peoples bullshit. I wish I had a Judge Judy to carry around with me in my daily life. Sic 'em Judy!
I like when she just tells people to shut up or calls them liars. It is so much funnier than a real trial by jury type court, which is always so boring.
@ben: "If you co-sign a loan, both parties are jointly and individually responsible. So if you break up with the girl and she stops making payments on the car, go over and get the car yourself. Don't tell the financing place to repo the car and that "they need to go after her."
I disagree. Yes, both parties are responsible for PAYING for the car, but only the actual buyer is on the registration of the vehicle and has legal right to possess it, NOT the co-signer. And if your name is NOT on the registration, taking the car is called GRAND THEFT AUTO.
The point of being a co-signer is that you are saying you trust the person so much to make good on the loan that you will risk having having to pay for the loan yourself if they cannot. Being a co-signer does NOT get you free merchandise if the buyer defaults, it gets you screwed.
Instead of telling the loan company/dealer to repo the car, and instead of STEALING the car (going over and getting it, as Ben said), the co-signer should continue to pay the loan to keep his/her credit in good standing, and THEN sue the buyer for defaulting.
My favorite People's Court was back in the days of Judge Wapner. A little old lady was suing a girl who rented a room in her home for medical damages because she found the girl's bag of pot, and threw it in the fireplace. She felt sick and disoriented for days afterwards. Seeing as she admitted to Judge Wapner that she knew it was pot when she burned it, she didn't get much of anything in the suit, but it was funny to see The Wap try to hold in the laughter.
Is it true that Judge Judy makes something like $30Million a year with this show?
My friends father was a small claims court judge. Oh the stories he told...
I had to sue an ex for return of property. It went a bit like this:
Judge: You agree that the [item] is hers, then?
Him: Yes.
Judge: You borrowed the [item]?
Him: Yes.
Judge: You promised to return it to her on [date]?
Him: Yes.
Judge: So why didn't you return it on [date]?
Him: ::shrugs:: I don't want to.
Needless to say, I got my stuff back.
Sadly, I can say I've been to court 7 because of problems in my old neighborhood (happily, our group of neighbors won every single time even though we didn't have attorneys and none of us were attorneys). So here are a few ways that Judge Judy is not realistic:
* When Judge Judy yells at people for not being properly dressed or prepared, if anything, she's easy on the fine folks who come before her. In real life, judges will refuse to hear excuses for why people aren't prepared, especially if they are the ones who brought the action. They don't tolerate comments from the gallery and they want you to come dressed neatly. They are apt to tell you that you knew you were coming today and hand the judgement to the defendant.
* In real life, judges are usually experienced lawyers, just like Judge Judy, but not always. In some municipalities, anyone who wins a judgeship election can serve, but they may not know a whole lot more than you do. You don't know fun until you get a judge who has to check with the clerk to see if he has jurisdiction over your case. At least Judge Judy knows the law.
* If Judge Judy was real, her show would start late every day. Court is always (in my experience) late. If your case is due to start at 10:00 AM, be happy if it starts by 11:30AM.
* Conversely, you know how Judge Judy's show wraps up two cases in half an hour? That's actually pretty realistic. Assuming the judge knows what he or she is doing, they will hear both sides, any rebuttal and will make their decision right there in just a few minutes. You are often left with a sense of "You mean I got all dressed up, prepared this case, waited forever, and it took 10 minutes to settle?"
* Collecting your judgement (if there is one) is not easy. Once you have it, it's up to you to collect and that can be difficult and time consuming. I think the people on Judge Judy get a fee for appearing, which is split after the judgement is paid. In real life, the people who wouldn't do the right things to begin with probably won't when there is a judgement against them, either.
I love Judge Judy. I did a thesis paper on her in college. I actually think she's gotten nicer over the years--not as tough as she was when she began though.
@MercuryPDX: That's because Judge Judy gets through 10 cases a week in less than 2 1/2 hours (sans commercials). The Supreme Court Justices are lucky to get through opening arguments for one case in that amount of time.
Go Judy!
I'm sure Ms. Ginsburg lives comfortably.
I'm not sure I care to speculate on who derives more satisfaction from their job, though...I mean on the one hand, Supreme Court cases are of far-reaching, long-term importance. On the other hand, I don't guess she often gets to tell people how stupid they are.
@gingerCE: I think that's more typical with female judges, they feel it's important to set a firm example at first, so they won't be looked at as 'just a women'. But some stay real nasty, like the one in my district, she's a real nasty women.
@ceejeemcbeegee: I don't go to Jezebel Enough......... You make my day now that your on Comsumerist :D
@httpdotcom:
That's not entirely correct. Oral arguments before the Supreme Court are typically very short (relatively). Each side, by default, gets 30 minutes to present. Most of the "work" in Supreme Court cases is done in the briefs.
Heh... I always giggle a little in that "I'm-5-years-old-again" way whenever I see the acronyms for various federal government units like SCOTUS and POTUS. Anything *OTUS. Makes me think (and hope) that someone at the federal level has a sense of humor and a set of brass ones.
As for court shows, I stopped watching them since before Wapner left. I couldn't stand the stupidity. Why should I be forced to deal with it in person on a daily basis at my job and STILL watch it on TV on my own time? It's too much to bear, I tells ya'.
I love all the people that buy a friend/lover a cell phone in their name, then don't want to pay the bill when it gets out of hand.
@marsneedsrabbits:
@httpdotcom: Another reason Judge Judy's "court" is different from other courts is because courtroom shows aren't actually litigation; they're binding arbitration that the parties agree to before going on the show. That's why no real rules of procedure apply and why people can generally behave like buffoons. The parties agree to accept Judge Judy's ruling, however wrong it may be, just like most consumers are bound to accept the decisions of arbitrators that they agreed to use when they signed their phone contracts, credit card forms, employment application, etc.
For more info: [www.abanet.org]
Are people really that dumb?
The Sick part is I just watched all those episodes this last week... School's out so I am totally up on people's court and judge judy.
I want to see someone take someone else to small claims court for stealing their illegal drugs.
@akalish:
I don't know if dumb is the right word. I understand they get like $5-10k for being on the show.
I really have a dislike for Judge Judy. She is rather pius and condescending. I do however enjoy the current "people Court" judge and Judge Joe Brown. They both seem to not only have a grasp on the truth of the cases, they aren't over acting and sanctimonious like Judy is.
But to the point, have watched these types shows occasionally, it astounds me how little people walk into knowing. How about some prep people? Between them and Cops, where people haven't a clue at all what their actual rights are it really shows how ignorant most of the population is.
My favorite People's Court was the crazy old lady who sued a leather repair shop for the cost of two purses. Why? Because she had taken one in for repair, and bought one from their shop the same day because she was without purse. They finished repairs in a week, then tried to contact her. FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS. They kept the purse in their back room, and called repeatedly (though, down the line, it became about once a month), but got no reply, and no one came for it. They finally say "Screw this," give away or sell the purse, and who comes waltzing in about two weeks later?
She seriously expected them to hold onto this thing, waiting with bated breath for her to show up (which they did for a while), for over two years. And she wanted the cost of the purse she bought, because, 2.5 years later, the handle was torn or something.
And she was a right bitch to Judge Milian. "Oh, honey," she said, "Macy's would take it back after two years." Needless to say, she lost, and spent the post-judgment interview complaining about how unjust the decision was.
@goller321: I think I would become pious and condescending after dealing with so many idiots over years :)
I LOVE MY GIRL JJ!
@enriquez the water bottle: Where do they find these people =P
I never seen that many at the same time that lack common sense. For every sane person, judge Judy seems to get an idiot.
@Pylon83: No. I was invited to be on judge Judy when I sued my ex-wife. It's all expenses paid (air-fare, hotel, shuttle to studio, vouchers for meals), plus, THEY also pay the judgment to the winner (even though they don't say that on TV). But $25k? You're nuts.
@cde: Thanks!
@enriquez the water bottle: She's confusing Macy's with Nordy's, 'cuz you can't bring anything back to Macy's after 6 months, or 14-30 days if it looks worn.
Now Nordy's... I've seen little old ladies (obviously on limited income) return worn pantyhose with runs and tattered shoes for a full refund.
@aaron8301:
I don't recall saying they paid you $25,000. I think I said $5,000 to $10,000. However, I did some research after that post and determined the amount is probably lower than that, though I doubt the sources credibility.
There is typically a pot of cash, 2,500 - 5,000 that will be split among the parties. Let's say the judgment is for $500 and assume a pot of $2,500. The remaining 2,000 is split evenly. So, one person got 1,500, the other 1,000. If there is no judgment against either side, they just split the pot as an appearance fee.
I know this, if I was on the wrong side of a claim, I would love to act the fool on TV in exchange for my liability being covered.
@Trojan69:
That arrangement is exactly what I have heard about, though the numbers are always different.
@Trojan69: A friend of mine was on Judge Mathis and was suing another friend. She won the maximum 5000 and they gave her every penny. They also gave the defendant about 200 bucks for showing up (and food, etc).
The best line was, judge mathis looks at my guy friend (defendant) and says "You smokin too much weed?".
Priceless
Wow, Ben. Maybe you just should trust women with money?