Judge Judy

Judge Judy
File:JudySheindlin.jpg Judge Judith Sheindlin.
Starring	Judith Sheindlin Petri Hawkins-Byrd Jerry Bishop
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Original release
Network	Syndicated
Release	1996 – present

For the person, see Judith Sheindlin.

Judge Judy is an American syndicated "judicial," "court," or "syndi-court" show. The program premiered in 1996. The return of The People's Court, as well as an influx of other judge shows, such as Judge Mathis, Judge Joe Brown, Judge Alex and Judge Hatchett, are largely seen as a result of Judge Judy's success. The show has been renewed through the 2009/2010 season. Judge Judy has completed her 11th season.

The show features former family court judge Judith Sheindlin, arbitrating small claims cases. Each show is introduced by announcer Jerry Bishop with the statement: You are about to enter the courtroom of Judge Judith Sheindlin. The people are real... the cases are real... the rulings are final. This is Judge Judy.

Petri Hawkins-Byrd, Judge Judy's bailiff, with his absolutely sedate composure, is often a foil to Judge Judy who berates litigants for the bad choices they make in their lives. Through cross-examination, she frequently exposes the lies the litigants tell and humiliates them for doing so.

Overview

Judge Judy is broadcast in many English-speaking countries. In Canada, Judge Judy airs daily on the Global television network; occasionally, the judge even hears cases brought by Canadian litigants. In the UK, ITV2 airs three episodes twice a day during weekdays, with network announcers often affectionately referring to her simply as "the Judge". In Australia, Judge Judy shows every weekday on Network Ten. It also airs every weekday in Ireland, on TV3. In Sweden "Judys domstol" (Judy's court) airs on Monday-Friday on TV4 Plus. Additionally, the show has been airing in the Middle East on One TV, a satellite channel operating from Dubai, UAE.

At one point, Sheindlin's show was even surpassing Oprah Winfrey's (which is syndicated by King World Productions, a corporate sibling of Judge Judy's distibutor, CBS Paramount Television), making her the highest-paid woman in television history at the time.

Legal aspects

While the cases on Judge Judy are actual small-claims court cases, and Sheindlin operates according to the principles of the American legal system, The Judge Judy show is not a court of law, but rather an arbitration, and all parties must sign contracts agreeing to arbitration under Sheindlin. Even this status has been disputed: in Doo Wop Shoppe Ltd. v. Ralph Edwards, syndi-court justice was determined not to be an actual form of arbitration because a third party pays the cost of the judgment. This decision was subsequently overturned.[1].

The award limit on Judge Judy, as on most syndi-court shows, is US$5,000, the maximum award in small claims courts in most U.S. states. The award for each judgment is paid by the producers of the show from a fund reserved for each case. The remainder of the fund is split between the parties for a particular case.

There are no lawyers present and participants defend themselves, as is standard in a small claims court. The people who appear on her show sign a waiver agreeing that arbitration in her court is final and cannot be pursued elsewhere unless she dismisses the case without prejudice. In practice, rulings on the show have been overturned. The American Bar Association notes that:

B.M. v. D.L., the Family Court of Kings County, New York, overturned part of a Judge Judy decision. The parties had appeared in front of Judge Judy over a dispute involving personal property. However, Judge Judy made a decision involving child custody and visitation. The court overturned the custody and visitation part of her decision on two grounds. First, it was a matter that was not covered by the agreement to arbitrate. Second, as a matter of public policy, an arbitrator could not decide child custody and visitation rights. Considering that Judy had been a judge in New York’s family court, it is particularly ironic that she decided to overstep her arbitral authority on this particular issue. [2]

Petri Hawkins-Byrd

Petri Hawkins Byrd (born November, 1957) is the bailiff on Judge Judy.

Byrd is a native of Brooklyn, New York. He attended John Jay College of Criminal Justice and received his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice in 1989. While attending college, Byrd worked as a court officer in the Brooklyn Family Court system. In 1986, he was transferred to the Manhattan Family Court system, where he worked on a rotating basis with all the judges, including Judge Judy. "I was never bored in her courtroom," muses Byrd. "Her get-to-the-point style didn't always sit well with the litigants, and there were times she was definitely glad to have me around."

In 1990, Byrd relocated to San Mateo, California, and became a Special Deputy U.S. Marshal. In 1993, Byrd accepted an offer to work as a student counselor at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, CA. His main role is to introduce the cases. Unlike most bailiffs, Byrd is rather frank, even with Judge Judy.

Trivia

In discussing the Donald Trump/Rosie O'Donnell on Larry King Live, Judge Judy commented that Donald Trump went overboard and was cruel.

Judge Judy made an appearance on the 6th season of American Idol

Judge Judy in popular culture

• Judge Judy has been parodied on Saturday Night Live, with Cheri Oteri in the role of Sheindlin. In one memorable sketch, the real Judge Judy interrupted Oteri's Judge Judy just as she was about to rule on a "case."
• The Simpsons character Judge Constance Harm is a parody of Judge Judy, notably used when a character requires a harsh sentence for a plot. Her characteristics and voice are based on Judge Judy.
• On the GSN show Whammy! The All-New Press Your Luck, one particular Whammy impersonates Judge Judy and says "I don't wanna hear about your money problems! Dismissed!"
• Amanda Bynes parodied Judy on The Amanda Show, in a skit called Judge Trudy.
• There is a parody named Judge Trudy (who has a sister named Judy) in Cyberchase.
• 3rd Rock from the Sun parodied Sheindlin, placing Sally Solomon in her position in an episode where a dispute in a laundromat occurred.
• Judge Judy has appeared in the comic strip Get Fuzzy, during July-August 2002 when main character Bucky Katt sued his neighbor Fungo Squiggly for breaking his tooth, even though the injury occurred while Bucky was attempting to trap Fungo. After several weeks of lead up to the trial, Judy makes short work of Bucky's claim in her trademark caustic style and dismisses his case.
• In an episode of The Chaser's War on Everything, the team modified the subtitles of a video of Saddam Hussein's trial so Saddam claimed he wanted to be tried by Judge Judy instead of the court he was in.
• In the comic strip One Big Happy, Ruthie ended a report saying that you should avoid money problems, or you'll appear before Judge Judy, and she'll holler at you.
• Looney Tunes does a parody of Judge Judy called Judge Granny.
• An episode of That's So Raven featured a parody of Judge Judy, who was hired by a fast food conglomerate to convince students to convert their school cafeteria to all junk food. The character's name was Judge Foodie.
• Judge Judy has been parodied by the American comedian Carlos Mencia in his Mind of Mencia series.
• In the movie, Hot Fuzz, Danny Butterman defends his corrupt father by saying, "He's not Judge Judy and executioner".

External links

• JudgeJudy.com – the show's official homepage
• Syndi-Court Justice: Judge Judy and Exploitation of Arbitration – a critical essay on small-claims arbitration shows, at the website of the American Bar Association
• Kramer Vs. Judging Judy, criticism by Irwin Kramer, The Daily Record, November 10, 2003
• Template:Tv.com show
• Judge Judy at IMDb
• Petri Hawkins-Byrd at IMDb