I had a small claims dispute with someone a few years ago (I eventually won) and was solicited to appear on one of these TV shows.* I didn’t do it, but at that time, there was no appearance fee and the only financial arrangement was that any monetary judgment would be paid by the show.
Of all of these shows, People’s Court appears to be the most “real,” in terms of actually trying to arbitrate a solution and applying the laws that are relevant; also, the very-hot Judge Milian doesn’t appear to be posturing for the camera like Judge Judy. She appears to me to be about render the verdict she’s decided on and, having decided, was interrupting because further argument (and petulance) were pointless.
Along the lines of exposing people to what to expect and how to behave in court, I’ve seen JJ remonstrate a litigant about her extremely lowcut halter-top and recessed so that she could go put something over it. Although I really don’t like JJ’s hysterical antics, I thought this was appropriate and took it in the way ETF mentions.
I can’t remember now which one but, if I do, I’ll come back and post it.
** I remember this guy on JJ’s show who was giving her a hard time and when she ruled against him, smirking, he said something to the effect of “I don’t care, I just wanted to get on here and give you a hard time.”
So you’re saying that she is entitled to the same deference and respect a sworn judge sitting on the bench in an actual courtroom is entitled to? If not, your point is pointless. If you are, then you are wrong.
For the purposes of the show, I think she is entitled to the same deference and respect—at least everyone there must act that way. Otherwise they’d all start smart-mouthing her, the courtroom would turn into a zoo and the show would go down the tubes.
And in real life courts there are any number of attorneys who pretend they respect a judge even though that judge is unanimously renowned as a certified asshole.
…an annual expose entitled something like “The worst Ten Judges in New York.”
Their excesses boggle the mind and as you read, you wonder how these people keep their jobs. Maybe some adept Doper can link us to one of the articles.
The attorneys who appear before these judges must do a whole lot of pretending to respect those judges, even though they’re almost unanimously renowned as certified assholes, bullies, or what not.
The same respect that any other game show host gets, sure. That of a real, live judge, never. If she wants that respect she should not have sold her robes to appear on TV.
To some degree, I heartily approve of someone (anyone) ripping into anybody when they say “That’s just your opinion!” in response to anything.
In this case, since, as has been pointed out, this lady isn’t even a real judge at the moment, I’d have gotten a kick out of watching the kid tell her to shove it once she started going off on him. Hey, that’s why I watch reality TV.
I’m not very familiar with this woman (I find her show boring), but I’m a semi-frequent Judge Judy viewer, and one of things that bugs me about her is her tendency to totally arbitrarily pick either plaintiff or defendant to hate and torment for the duration of the “trial” no matter what they say or do.
I once had to do a two-week trial session (as the court reporter) with a judge in a federal administrative court who, I was warned, was a major bitch on wheels. They weren’t kidding. The first lawyer to appear in front of her on a motion hearing had a stack of documents – basically, the respondent’s entire case file with that particular government agency – six inches thick that he wanted admitted into evidence, which is pretty standard procedure. The judge, however, informed him that he would have to justify Every. Single. Page. individually. Whereupon the attorney rolled his eyes.
BIG mistake. Fifteen minutes later, when she’d finished ripping him into tiny shreds, stomping on the shreds, setting them afire, and then sending a herd of wild yaks to stomp on the burnt pieces some more, he begged for a recess, came back, and withdrew his motion.
This lady’s reputation preceded her with everyone – we finished up the two-week session in less than 1-1/2 days. I don’t even want to THINK of what she would have done had someone been as disrespectful to her as this student was to the TV judge.
This may have been a TV show, but the kid wants to be a lawyer, and he was up there acting like one. Part of being a courtroom, especially as a lawyer but really expected of everyone, is courtesy to the position of the judge, no matter what forum you’re in. In 20 years of court reporting in administrative proceedings, no matter how blatantly incompetent the judge was (and I’ve seen a few who were pathetic), I have never seen someone be as openly disrespectful as this kid was. Frankly, he got off light, if my real-life experience is anything to go by.
And as a bystander, when a judge goes off on a lawyer? It’s really fun to watch!
Because the litigant and the defendant agree to the arbitration process of this TV court. In other words, they are to treat it as though it were a real courtroom. And even if they did not, saying “It’s your opinion” is a piss-poor defense that no self-respecting attorney should use.
I agree with Mama Tiger. The Judge actually did him a favor by dressing him down and letting him see exactly how far his ego will get him in a courtroom. Think of her as his first run-in with a drill-sarg.
She is one of the highest paid people in television and no case airs without her approval. I really can’t imagine anyone coming out ahead in a battle of hard times with her. She is a real demon!
Judge Judy is not just posturing for the camera. She was a family court judge in NYC for thirty years and had such a reputation that Sixty Minutes did a feature on her. That’s how she ended up with the show. I’ve always wondered what she would have been like as a teacher in a high school classroom
I’ve seen features on her too and you’re right. What I actually meant was she’s naturally this way but seems to play it up more for the camera and ratings (this from someone who watches her every chance he gets).
I also was quite surprised at the time that the “I just wanted to mess with you” episode/segment got on TV, given the fact that she has approval rights.
