Thursday Thirteen #448

13 Celebrity Judges. I am fascinated by reality court shows. It's a durable syndicated TV genre, beginning with Judge Wapner and The People's Court back in the 1980s. They feature civil cases – like unpaid bills and landlord/tenant disputes – as opposed to criminal cases. The litigants agree to abide by the ruling of the TV judge, but they often don't have to pay very much. The show pays both sides an appearance fee, and usually the producers take the judgement out of the loser's stipend. That way the loser is not out that much, and got to stay in a nice hotel and enjoy room service, courtesy of the show's producers.

 

Here are 13 of the judges who dispense(d) justice on daytime TV.

 

1. Judge Joseph Wapner. Made famous by Dustin Hoffman in Rain Man ("One minute to Wapner!"). He was TV's first chief arbiter, appearing on The People's Court from 1981 to 1993, when it was cancelled.

2. Judge Ed Koch. When The People's Court was revived in late 1993, the former Mayor of New York put on the robes.

3. Judge Marilyn Milian. After she retired from the Florida State Circuit Court, she climbed onto the bench of The People's Court, where she stayed for more than 20 years. Today she hosts Justice for the People. (She's my favorite.)

4. Judge Jerry Sheindlin. In between Koch and Milian, Judge Jerry heard cases on The People's Court. He's best known as the husband of Judge Judy. When their shows aired opposite one another, he usually lost, which is why his time on the TV bench was rather short. 

5. Judge Judy Sheindlin. She's the queen of the genre, in the Guinness Book of Records for presiding over more TV cases than any other judge. Between her own shows (first Judge Judy, now Judy Justice), more than a dozen books, real estate, and her production company, she is worth more than $70 million.

6. Judge Greg Mathis. Second only to Judge Judy in terms of shows/cases presided over, he took an interesting route to TV fame. As a teenager he was a purse snatcher and served time on a concealed weapons charge. He promised his mother he would get his GED while behind bars. Upon his release, he went to college, then law school. In 1999, after five years on the bench in Michigan, he moved to TV, where he's been ever since.

7. and .8 Dana Tippin Cutler and Kevin Cutler. This married couple, both judges, presides over cases together on Couples Court (rebooted as Cutlers Court). Their cases are less legal than "relationship based" – Is he cheating on you? Does she owe you money? Want someone to pay for your paternity test?

9. Alex Ferrer. He went from cop to prosecutor to criminal court judge and then for 9 seasons presided over his own show. I watched him on Friday afternoons, back in those long-ago days before covid when we got out of the office early. I had a crush on him. He had great teeth.

10. Star Jones. The star of Divorce Court. Though not a judge in real life, she is a licensed attorney best known for appearing on The View during the Barbara Walters years. Since divorces can only be granted by a state court, Star is limited to property settlements.

11. Larry Elder. Not a judge but an attorney, he began his TV career on Moral Court, "where it pays to be right." Family members, neighbors, business partners, etc., would air their grievances and Elder would decide who was right. His rulings were based not on the law but his personal ethics. The winner would get between $500 and $2,000. From here he went on to conservative talk radio and California politics. Considering that he didn't exactly bathe himself in glory during covid – peddling conspiracy theories and anti-vax talk – I find it ruefully amusing that he used his personal ethics to decide cases.

12. Jeanine Pirro. Yes, the US Attorney for the District of Columbia. Like the President who appointed her, she had a reality show. Judge Jeanine ran for two seasons and won a Daytime Emmy in 2011.

13. Steve Harvey. He's not a judge at all but a comedian and host. Yet in 2022, litigants let him decide their cases for a season.

This only scratches the surface. There are many more reality court shows streaming and in syndication.

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