Judge Judy

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Judge Judy
Judge Judith Sheindlin.
Genre	Judicial
Starring	Judith Sheindlin Petri Hawkins-Byrd Jerry Bishop
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Syndicated
Original run	1996 – present

For the person, see Judith Sheindlin.

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 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 her courtroom. 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 and 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 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.

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. 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. ^[1]

[edit] Parodies

Judge Judy has been parodied (and Sheindlin herself has appeared) 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 also parodied Judy on The Amanda Show, in a skit called Judge Trudy.
There is also 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 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 occurred while Bucky was attempting to trap Fungo. After several weeks of leadup 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.