Jump to content

Judge Judy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 64.149.204.158 (talk) at 21:21, 7 December 2006 (→‎Parodies). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Judge Judy
File:JudySheindlin.jpg
Judge Judith Sheindlin.
StarringJudith Sheindlin
Petri Hawkins-Byrd
Country of originUSA
Production
Running time30 Minuten
Original release
NetworkSyndicated
Release1996 –
current

Judge Judy is an American syndicated judicial show. The program premiered in 1996 and remained the only courtroom show on television in the United States since The People's Court ended its first run in 1993, and until that series returned with Ed Koch as judge in 1997. 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 is currently in her 11th season which started on September 11, 2006. Each show is introduced 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.

The show features the former family court judge Judith Sheindlin, Esq., as an arbitrator hearing small claims cases with an award limit of US$5,000, the maximum in most U.S. states. She is notorious for berating 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.

Petri Hawkins-Byrd, Judge Judy's bailiff, with his absolutely sedate composure, is often a foil to the harsh, severe Judge Judy.

The cases on Judge Judy are real, and Sheindlin operates according to the principles of the American legal system. She conducts her court in a manner similar to U.S. appellate courts and many international courts, taking on a more inquisitorial fashion. There are no lawyers present and participants defend themselves, which 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. The award for each judgement 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.

Judge Judy is broadcast in many English-speaking countries. 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. 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 (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. [1]

Parodies

  • In the episode "Food for Thought" in That's So Raven, there is a judge named Judge Foodie who supervises the "food court".
  • Judge Judy has also appeared in the comic strip, Get Fuzzy during July-August 2002 when main character Bucky Katt sued his neighbour Fungo Squiggly for breaking his tooth even though the injury had occurred while Bucky was attempting to trap Fungo. After several weeks of leadup to the trial, Judy made short work of Bucky's claim in her trademark caustic style and dismisses his case.

See Also