Judge Judy Info
The Legal Briefs
Judge Judy
Judge Judith Sheindlin, who goes by Judge Judy in her courtroom, has had many cases come her way in her 16 years on the bench. Judy has done everthing from raise 5 children to hearing $20,000 family court cases.
In a typical episode of Judge Judy, Sheindlin blasts the plaintiff - (e.g)a mother on welfare for being a burden on taxpayers, and then blasts the defendant for not bringing evidence. One woman even took someone to court over a crushed hat. To her Judy tells, "you better get a life madam." The most famous case that ever came to Judge Judy's courtroom, was John Lydon also known as Johnny Rotten, who headed the group The Sex Pistols in the '70's. No sooner had John started mouthing off to the drummer, then Judy said "I'm going to show you the door" after that warning, he understood to keep his mouth shut. John wasn't the only one to get a stern warning, as the defendant, a former drummer for Lydon, was called a "nudnik" by the judge (also known as a pest)before ruling for the Lydon.
She may seem comical, (which might be why her ratings are higher then Judge Koch's!) by doing things such as barking "Baloney!" or impatient for a straight answer, she may tap her forehead and ask "Does it say stupid here?" Once even telling a witness to get out of her court room for mumbling a swear word.
As Judy says of herself, "I'm clueless in math, I can't draw a striaght line, I can't sing, but my skill is people sense." "She truly gives a damn about these people says the shows bailiff Petri Hawkins-Byrd, who served under the judge in New York City.
After her 1982 appointment to the bench by then the mayor of New York City Edward J. Koch (Edward J. Koch) who now is the Honorable Judge Edward J. Koch of The Peoples Court who says only of his opponent "she has a greater tendency to lecture", the Judy put in what she called " six-Tylenol days" trying to persuade city bureaucrats to bend the rules a bit, that would have (in one case) put four kids in Foster Care at a cost of $100,000, rather then reunite them with there mother in a subsidized apartment. When the bureaucrats refused, she threatened to call in the press, which caused the city officials to cave in she says. "You had to rattle the cage that one last time."
A new thing I found out today, which is just a rumor at the moment, is that all TV Courtroom's (eg. Judge Judy, The Peoples Court) can say I find the defendant guilt, you owe the plaintiff $1,000, and the defendant could walk out of the courtroom laughing! The reason supposedly behind this is that because apparently these courtrooms do not have any authority over making these people pay! Don't forget that because they got on TV, they get money for there appearance!
