# Racial minorities over-represented on court shows...why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 30, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140 "2011-09-30T12:03:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/41 "2011-10-04T15:08:18Z")
I still think it has something to do with the genetic inferiority of Chicagoans. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/42 "2011-10-04T15:22:31Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Originally Posted by John Mace > Chicago is 32% Black. > > And 68% cholesterol. More if you have [da Polish sassage.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLjmnXJ8cJE) ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/43 "2011-10-06T13:32:33Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > I had more People’s Court than any of the others which breaks down as follows" > > Whites - 11 …61 % > Blacks - 6 …33 > Hispanics - 0…0 > Asian - 1 …6 > > Conclusion based on the above: blacks are over-represented; Hispanics are under. Update based on the last 9 cases of PC…whites 10; blacks 8 making the revised total 21/14/0/1 and raising the black percentage of the total to 39% Where is the Judge Judy data you might ask? I was tempted to follow in the best tradition of man-made global warming science and just ignore it but I was curious why there appeared to be far fewer blacks. I did a little research and found that her show was sued a few years ago. JJ was quoted as being tired of listening to black litigants and instructing her producers to send them to Judge Joe Brown which is affiliated. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/44 "2011-10-06T15:40:05Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Note that the OP was based simply on observation and asked for opinions … perhaps GD was not the right spot, but I don’t think there is anything mundane or humble about racial issues. The topic does not have to be humble, just the (ironic) self-identification of the author. Now that you point it out, I note that you have been very careful to avoid actually presenting a perspective for debate. Since you were just looking for opinions, that is where I am going to send this thread. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2014, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/45 "2014-11-13T14:06:23Z")
Three years later but still an interesting subject …IMHO. Judge Joe Brown is gone as is Judge Alex… quite a few new Judges. My least favorite was a ditzy blonde that seems to be gone already. Judge Judy is the worst, but I still watch for some reason. Judge Milian on People’s Court seems to be on an emotional soapbox more than in the past. Her Spanish Phrases are the best part! ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/46 "2014-11-13T15:03:20Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Is there, perhaps, something culturally or genetically dysfunctional about Chicagoans, that causes them to be overrepresented on court TV shows? It might be due to the availability of studios capable of producing broadcast quality programs at low cost. Maybe it’s because Harpo studios is in Chicago? ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/47 "2014-11-13T16:16:54Z")
> [@What\_the](#): > > Three years later but still an interesting subject …IMHO. I agree that it is just as interesting now as it was when you originally Just Asked the Question. Still watching TV judge shows on a regular basis? And if so, did your three years of research help you find the answer you sought? ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/48 "2014-11-14T12:30:04Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Then why aren’t minorities over-represented on **all** shows? I suspect he meant not that the audience wants to see racial minorities on TV, but rather that they want to see racial minorities humiliating themselves on TV. I’m not sure whether I agree with that or not. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/49 "2014-11-14T12:37:54Z")
Anyone with brains knows small claims court is basically a waste of time because in real life, not on tv, you rarely get money even if you win. So from my experience is if the case involves anything less than say $10,000 and you have a clear way to recover assets, your wasting your time. Ex. The defendant has a nice boat sitting in his driveway which can be seized and sold. The person is about to sell their home and you can put a claim on their mortgage. You can put a claim on their insurance. This coming from my experience trying to get $1,000 from a neighbor. I won my case but since the guy was on disability I couldnt get any money from him. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/50 "2014-11-14T13:32:09Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Is there, perhaps, something culturally or genetically dysfunctional about Chicagoans, that causes them to be overrepresented on court TV shows? Well, blacks are about 1/3 of Chicago, so they’re more than the US average of 12.whatever%. That makes the “over-representation” a little less surprising. It may be that the small claims situation in Chicago requires long waits and some people may see the show as a quicker way to get their case settled. Blacks in Chicago are somewhat more likely to be poor or lower middle class than other ethnicities (some very prominent wealthy black people like Oprah and the Obamas being exceptions), so that might also skew their representation on such shows give that most participants seem to be of a lower socio-economic class. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/51 "2014-11-14T13:37:07Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Anyone with brains knows small claims court is basically a waste of time because in real life, not on tv, you rarely get money even if you win. I went to small claims and I’m getting my money at $100/month. The _[expletive deleted]_ will be paying me for another three years. Then again, I sued someone with an actual income (albeit most of that is now confiscated by people she owes money to), not someone on a fixed income with zero resources. ---
**Author:** ![What\_the](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f4b2a3/32.png) [@What\_the](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_the)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140/52 "2014-11-18T15:51:23Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > I agree that it is just as interesting now as it was when you originally Just Asked the Question. > > Still watching TV judge shows on a regular basis? And if so, did your three years of research help you find the answer you sought? Yes and no. Did your snark adequately discourage others from a thread that you dissaprove of? BTW… I mentioned the new judges. They seem to be out of proportion to the population (however it might be defined) as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/racial-minorities-over-represented-on-court-shows-why/598140.md?page=2)