Judge Judy

After Joseph Wapner was released from The People's Court on May 21, 1993, Sheindlin called up the program's producers, Ralph Edwards-Stu Billett Productions and Warner Bros. Television, and offered to do the show in his place, to which the receptionist responded, "Are you crazy, lady?".[8] A Los Angeles Times article on Sheindlin's reputation as one of the toughest family court judges in the country[9][10] caught the attention of 60 Minutes, which aired a segment on her on October 24, 1993.[11] The segment brought her national recognition and first led to an offer for her to write her own book. Sheindlin accepted the book offer, writing Don't Pee On My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining.

In early 1995 two former People's Court producers, Kaye Switzer and Sandi Spreckman (who later sued Sheindlin and CBS for compensation for discovering her),[12] asked Sheindlin if she would like to preside over her own courtroom series,[13] and she eventually accepted.[13] Sheindlin and her producers originally wanted the show title to be "Her Honor" but the production company, Big Ticket Television, decided on calling it "Hot Bench" instead,[14][15] even promoting the show as "Hot Bench With Judge Judy" for some time prior to the show's début.[16] However, Big Ticket ultimately decided on "Judge Judy".[17]

Petri Hawkins-Byrd, the court show's bailiff, was also Sheindlin's bailiff throughout her career in the Manhattan Family Court system. When Byrd found out about Sheindlin's show, he sent her a congratulatory letter, stating, "If you ever need a bailiff, I still look good in uniform."[18] She phoned Byrd at his home in California to accept his offer and he has been the show's bailiff since its debut.[18] Byrd is the longest-running bailiff in courtroom programming history. Sheindlin has stated that the show's producers desired different individuals for the role, but she refused.

Sheindlin appeared again on 60 Minutes on April 30, 2003. During the interview, Sheindlin stated:

I have a contract with the company to do the program through the 2006 season. At that point, we will have produced this program for 10 years. Right now, I would be satisfied with a good 10-year run. I think that would really be phenomenal. It would be lovely if we could end on a high note and for me to say "10 years and I still had people watching and I had a second career that was a blast."[14]

On September 14, 2015, Sheindlin began celebrating her 20th season anniversary presiding on Judge Judy. The program is the first in the court show genre to make it to 20 seasons without cancellation as well as the first to make it to this extent under one arbitrator. Three years later by September 2018, the Judge Mathis court show entered its 20th season and became the second and only other court show to accomplish this feat. Sheindlin's distinction as television's longest serving judge or arbitrator rewarded Sheindlin a place in the Guinness World Records on September 14, 2015.[19]

Each episode of Judge Judy began with an introductory preview of the main case, sensationalizing various moments of the case with dramatic music, voice-over commentary, graphics, etc. This was followed by the show's opening music video. At the beginning of each court proceeding, information regarding who is suing whom and what for was revealed originally by voice-over artist Michael Stull, who was replaced by voice-over artist, Jerry Bishop from the second season onwards. Bishop remained the show's announcer from 1997 until shortly before his death in 2020.[2] As of the show's final season, Steve Kamer was the announcer. Sheindlin typically began each case by questioning the parties as to dates, times, locations and other facts central to the lawsuit. Monopolizing the discourse throughout the cases, Sheindlin would sometimes only listen to bits and pieces of each of the testimonies as she was quick to reply, impose her spiel and disallow responses that were not concise or made during her desire to speak.[20] Sometimes, however, Sheindlin would allow one or both of the opposing litigants to recount the entirety of their testimony. While delivering their testimony, litigants were not allowed to hesitate and had to maintain fixed eye contact with Sheindlin at all times. Further, litigants were not allowed to speak out of turn or talk to each other.

Like most modern court shows, cases on Judge Judy imitated small claims court cases in which civil trials (non-criminal cases) were heard and ruled on. Typically Sheindlin handled cases among former lovers, disputing neighbors, or family and friend relations.[21] Disputes generally revolved around issues such as broken engagements, unpaid personal loans, contract breaches, personal injuries from other litigants or their pets, minor property damages (e.g., fender benders, carpet stains, etc.), the fate of jointly purchased household appliances and rightful ownership of property.[21] As is standard practice in small claims court and most reality court shows alike, Judge Judy proceedings operated in the form of a bench trial (as opposed to its more common counterpart, the jury trial). Moreover, lawyers were not present and litigants had to represent themselves.[22] Generally each show presented two cases, but infrequently, an episode would present a single long case, three shorter ones, or even four shorter ones.

After expressing her views of the circumstances and behaviors of the litigants with regards to their testimonies, Sheindlin rendered the judgment either by finding for the plaintiff, or by dismissing the case specifically with or without prejudice. Any counterclaims filed were handled similarly to this. Counterclaims were handled subsequently in the same segment, though often cursorily by Sheindlin as many counterclaims on the program had been filed out of vindictiveness as opposed to legitimacy. At the end of each case, there was typically a monologue, where the litigators, and sometimes their witnesses, would express their feelings regarding the case directly to the viewers at home by speaking into the camcorder. Sometimes, however, these segments were omitted, especially after cases involving resentful litigants, too upset over the circumstances to remain in the studio and provide comment.[23]

The producers of Judge Judy hired extras from an audience service who composed the entire studio. Paid audience members were easier to control due to agreements and employment. They didn't have to be trained or debriefed as much as the average person on how to act to make those in the spotlight look good. Producers also looked for a certain demographic of individuals and sat them strategically throughout their audience. Most of these paid extras were aspiring actors.[10][24] Though tickets were not offered for the show, arrangements could sometimes be made with Sheindlin's production staff to allow fans of the show into the audience. The extras could not dress casually, and no logos or brand names could be visible on their clothing. Extras were also instructed to appear as if they were having discussions with each other before and after each case, so Byrd made such announcements as "Order! All rise."[25]

The audience was generally not allowed to make any noises during the proceedings and, unlike other court shows, could not applaud the judge or rightful litigant upon praiseworthy remarks; although on some occasions when Sheindlin delivered a crushing remark for a particularly egregious or ludicrous act, the audience was seen laughing or applauding without Sheindlin silencing them, effectively permitting the audience to do so, possibly because of how outrageous their behavior was in court. For the most part, Sheindlin was seen bringing the audience to order (with a fountain pen; she never used a gavel) and admonished them for engaging in any such noise throughout the cases when they were not allowed to do so, though sometimes they were allowed to; generally only when the litigant(s') behavior was so ludicrous, or outrageous that laughter and/or applause at their expense was necessary.

To acquire cases, the show generally used one of the following three options:

• Its 60 to 65 researchers, spread out across the country, entered small claims courts and photocopied numerous cases. These photocopied cases were then sent to Judge Judy producers, who reviewed them all in search of lawsuits they believed made for good television. According to the show's producers, only 3% of the photocopied cases were worthy enough for television.[10]
• Its telephone number posting/announcement presented on each episode where interested individuals could call in with lawsuits.
• Its website whereby lawsuits could be written out and submitted into the show.[26]

After one of these three processes, if the producers were interested, their employees would then call both parties and ask them questions relating to their lawsuit, making sure they were suitable for Judge Judy. If the parties agreed to be on the show and signed an arbitration contract, agreeing that arbitration in Sheindlin's court was final and couldn't be pursued elsewhere (unless Sheindlin dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice), their case would've aired on Judge Judy.[27]

The award limit on Judge Judy, as on most "syndi-court" shows (and most small claims courts in the U.S.), was $5,000. The award for each judgment was paid by the producers of the show from a fund reserved for the purpose.[28] Sheindlin ruled by either A.) issuing a verdict of a specific dollar amount (not always in the full amount of what is requested and rarely if ever in excess of what was requested even if she believed complainants were deserving of more) or B.) by dismissing the lawsuit altogether. When ruled on in these manners, cases couldn't be refiled or retried elsewhere. However, if Sheindlin specifically dismissed the lawsuit "without prejudice", that lawsuit could be refiled and retried in another forum. In some instances, Sheindlin had dismissed cases without prejudice deliberately so that complainants pursued defendants in an actual court of law so that the defendants themselves were held financially accountable, as opposed to on the show. In such cases, Sheindlin had expressed particular aversion to the defendants in question.[29] Further, Sheindlin had dismissed cases without prejudice when she had suspected both the plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) of conspiring together just to gain monetary rewards from the program.[29]

Both the plaintiff(s) and the defendant(s) also received an appearance fee. The appearance fee amount had varied as between different litigants of the show: certain litigants had reported receiving a $500 appearance fee while others had reported receiving $100, and others $250.[30][31] In addition to the appearance fee amount, litigants were paid $35 a day by the show.[31] The litigants' stay lasted for the number of days that the show did taping for that week, which was two or three days.[32] In addition, the airfare (or other means of travel) and hotel expenses of the litigants and their witnesses were covered by the show, and the experience was generally treated as an all-expense-paid vacation outside of the actual court case.[31] If there was an exchange of property, Sheindlin signed an order, and a sheriff or marshal oversaw the exchange.[33] Sheindlin saw only a half-page complaint and a defense response prior to the taping of the cases, sometimes only moments before.[8] Most of the cases, not including any footage deleted to meet the time constraints of the show, usually lasted anywhere from twelve to forty-five minutes.[34][35]

Judge Judy, like most court programs, was inexpensive to produce and thus created considerable income. A budget for a week's worth of Judge Judy episodes was half the cost of a single network sitcom episode.[36]

Three days every other week (two weeks a month), Sheindlin and her producers taped the court show.[17] They usually produced ten to twelve cases for each day they taped the show. This makes for about a week's worth of episodes, all done within one day. Anywhere from thirty to thirty-six cases were taped over three days during the week. Sheindlin appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 13, 2011. When asked by Kimmel how many days a month she works, Sheindlin replied, "Five days." [37] Sheindlin and her producers sometimes taped only five cases per day and two days per week.[38][39] The show had fifty-two taping days a year.[40] For each season, some 650 claims were brought to the set to be "presided" over by Judge Judy.[38] This means approximately 15,600 claims had been brought to Judy Sheindlin's Hollywood set as of the end of its 23rd season (2018–19).

For the most part, cases were taped all throughout the year except for two breaks Sheindlin and all of the staff members of her show had for the year. One of the two breaks included an extra week off in December, as the show was only taped one week out of that month because of the holidays. The other break was from mid-July (only taping one week in July) and all through August. According to members of the show, the reason for this break was that people were more interested in taking vacations than in filing lawsuits around that time.[8] When the show premiered in September, only the best episodes of the ones taped before Sheindlin's break were selected to begin out the season. Thus, the first few weeks (the first week in particular) would consist of what the show felt to be its best episodes. In Sheindlin's words, "It's like drinking wine. You don't serve the really good bottle of wine third."[41]

Altogether, there were 260 new episodes each season. There was at least one new episode for every weekday, with the exception of a few hiatuses during most of the summer, a couple of holidays, and as of more recent seasons, early spring as well (much of March and April).[42] The cases were all pre-recorded for editing purposes and would usually air one to three months after being taped. The cases were mixed up and not shown in order of when they were recorded.[43] While the cases taped in March ended the seasons, the cases taped throughout April, May, June, and July started out each season in September and lasted through October.[44] Throughout the very beginning of each season, two new Judge Judy episodes aired per day. After two weeks, this was reduced to one new airing a day, followed by a repeat. There were also various other moments throughout the year where two new episodes were shown for a few weeks. This had sometimes included January when the show returned from its winter hiatus. Two new episodes were also shown daily during the "sweeps" months of November, February, and May. Unlike other television programs, the Judge Judy season finale did not air in April or May; rather, it aired in June, July, or August. When the season finale was extended to July or August, most of the summer episodes preceding it were repeats with new episodes that were few and far in-between.

Two DVDs, featuring "memorable cases," had been released by the show: the first in 2007, "Judge Judy: Justice Served," and the second in 2008, "Judge Judy: Second To None."[45]

Judge Judy taped at the Sunset Bronson Studios on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.[46] In alternating weeks, Sheindlin, who owns a home in New York among other cities/states, flew out on her private jet to tape Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.[17]

As of 2014, the Judge Judy set was located directly beside the set of the courtroom series Sheindlin created and produces, Hot Bench. Both shows are taped at the same studio. Previous to that, the space directly beside Sheindlin's set was used for the courtroom series Paternity Court for the 2013–14 season.[47] Prior to that, the space was used for Judge Judy's long-running sister show Judge Joe Brown until Judge Joe Brown's 2013 cancellation. Like Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown was also produced by Big Ticket Entertainment.[34] The two shows alternated taping weeks. Despite the show being taped primarily in California, it displayed various images of New York City upon returning from commercial breaks, including a subway train and official signs bearing "State of New York" and "Family Court" (Sheindlin was previously a New York family court judge)[48] within the letterbox-like graphics used going to and from breaks since the ninth season. The set featured an American flag and New York state flag behind Judge Judy Sheindlin's seat.

Over its existence, the show had changed very little from season to season.[49] Most modifications to the program had been done in minute detail, such as to the show's book shelf display seen near the courtroom entrance. Aesthetically, the show's theme song, graphics, and color scheme were the only aspects that have changed repeatedly over the course of its lifespan.[50] The ninth season (2004–05) was one of few seasons in which the show underwent major remodeling when music for the show's opening, closing, and to/from commercial portions were modified. A remixed version of a melody from Beethoven's 5th Symphony was then adopted as the show's opening theme song. This arrangement was composed by Non-Stop Music Productions.[51] For its scenes, Sheindlin was shown in a different courtroom from her own, approaching the camera, followed by folding her arms and smiling at the camera. This was followed by showing various scenes of her presiding over different cases. As part of these modifications, the show's introductory previews, graphics, and images all began showing up in falu red.

Prior to the ninth season, the show used an original tune for its theme song composed by Bill Bodine. From the show's debut through its eighth season, various versions of this original tune were used, the show making moderate modifications to the tune every few seasons, as shown here and here. The actual full-length version of this original musical, which never played during the show's intro, played during the lengthier litigant-afterthought-segments as shown (full-length musical used for 1999-00, 2000–01, 2001–02). From seasons five through eight, the opening music video commenced with an approaching scene towards a computer animated courthouse display up until that scene entered into the courthouse. From there, several shots of Sheindlin gesticulating from her bench—as though presiding over various cases—were displayed in motion. These motioning images eventually developed into the courthouse logo that represents the program (the logo always displayed within the letter "D" in "Judy") by the end of this opening music video. The music video in seasons prior to this used relatively similar music with disparities in scenes, images, instrumental sound type and theme song length.

Further, the first season of the show used blue and gold on the end part of Judge Judy intro along with Purple, Pink, & Blue blended in to represent the rest of the show. Starting with second season until the fourth season used graphics and images that were sea green and saffron. Blue and saffron then came to represent the show starting with the fifth season lasting up to the eighth season of the show before the show's current color scheme. By the show's sixth season (2001–02), music and graphics used in the introductory previews no longer resembled the rest of the program as they had previously, but instead used a high blue color scheme and a different song for each episode/intro preview. While the introductory preview's inconstant tunes have continued to the present season, the color scheme in the introductory previews began resembling the color scheme used in the rest of the program (falu red) once again by the ninth season.

Changes for the tenth season intro was made with the "10 Years" caption depicted right next to the "Judge Judy" logo in the intro to celebrate the show’s 10th Anniversary.

Changes to the intro for the thirteenth season was the Judge caption on the top of the logo changed from silver to red.

Each opening music video consisted of voice-over artist Jerry Bishop stating: "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."[52] Originally between the statements "The rulings are final" and "This is Judge Judy" was the statement, "This is her courtroom."[53] This was removed in 2004. Beginning in September 2012, the show made a switch to high definition with its 17th season. The bumpers between commercials are also in HD, although most on-screen graphics such as plaintiff and defendant descriptions are framed to fit a 4:3 aspect ratio.[54]

By the 20th season beginning in September 2015, the show began using a shortened, scanty version of the same intro it had been using for 10 years since its 9th season. Both the Beethoven remix and intro had been curtailed. The present intro only stated "You are about to enter the courtroom of Judge Judith Sheindlin. This is Judge Judy." In addition to not using much of an intro theme any longer, a "20th anniversary" caption was depicted above the "Judge Judy" logo in the intro. These were the only two updates for season 20.

Late into the show's 23rd season, Sheindlin drastically altered her short hairdo that she had sported since the show's beginnings into a very low trim bounded by a clip-on ponytail at the back of her head, sparking considerable negative reviews from viewers and media spectators alike to the point her Facebook moderator admonished viewers that they would be deleting commentary about the clip-on ponytail.[55]

Her bailiff, Petri Hawkins-Byrd, admitted to a preference for the original hairdo. Sheindlin described changing her hairstyle as being done for the purposes of a simpler lifestyle, that sporting the former was becoming too laborious for her.[56]

On May 20, 2014, CBS aired a one-hour special called Judge Judy Primetime which aired at 8 p.m. ET/PT. The special was a combination of reshown clips from the 1993 60 Minutes Special on Sheindlin, as well as a few never-previously-seen cases. The special marked Judge Judy's first airing in primetime, a landmark for court shows which are typically limited to daytime or late night hours.[57][58] Although the special didn't rank nearly as high as Dancing with the Stars (14.86 million) and The Voice (11.57 million), it brought in 5.66 million viewers, enough to make it the night's top rated show on CBS. In addition, the special came in just behind American Idol, which brought in 6.61 million viewers.[59]

At least one case in the series was allegedly contrived by the litigants just to receive monetary payment from the program.

In April 2013, former litigants from a 2010 airing of the show revealed they conspired together in fabricating a lawsuit in which the logical outcome would be to grant payment to the plaintiff. The operation, devised by musicians Kate Levitt and Jonathan Coward, was successful: Sheindlin awarded the plaintiff (Levitt) $1,000. The litigants involved also walked away with an appearance fee of $250 each and an all-expense-paid vacation to Hollywood, California. In reality, all the litigants in question—plaintiffs and defendants alike—were friends who split the earnings up among each other. It was also reported that the show's producers were suspicious of the sham all along, but chose to look the other way. The lawsuit was over the fictitious death of a cat as a result of a television crushing it.[60]

Sheindlin and her program appeared on the November 26, 2017, broadcast of Curb Your Enthusiasm, presiding over a sketch comedy court case with Larry David as the plaintiff who unsuccessfully sued over custody of a sick plant. The pseudo-Judge Judy case assumed the appearance of an actual case from Sheindlin's program, taking place from the show's courtroom set with trademarked voice-over briefs, theme music and audience response.[61]

Strict in her management of the proceedings,[68] Sheindlin coerced precise compliance with rules and was very quick to scold or even punish what she perceived as disobedience, misbehavior or even annoyance. As a result of her gruff disposition,[69] volatile temper,[70] and cheeky treatment,[71] taglines such as "Justice with an Attitude" had been used to characterize the program.[72] As examples of this, Sheindlin had regularly made such remarks as:

• “I’m the boss, applesauce!” [73]
• "Baloney!"
• "Do I have 'stupid' written over my forehead?"[74]
• "I'm here because I'm smart, not because I'm young and gorgeous, although I am."[74]
• "If you live to be 100, you will never be as smart as I am, sir."[74]
• "Clearly, you are not wrapped too tight."[75]
• "Where did you think you were coming to today, the beach?!"[76]
• "I'm speaking!"[76]
• "Listening ears!"[76]
• "Beauty fades. Dumb is forever. That goes for both boys and girls."[76]
• "It doesn't work on me! I have a husband at home, so IT doesn't work on me."[76]
• "There are no new stories, there's just a new face."[76]
• "I'm ûber successful."[76]
• "That's my middle name: fair."[76]
• "If you interrupt again, your case is dismissed, and I'm throwing you out. Do we understand each other?"[76]
• "I've been in this business for over 40 years!"[76]
• "Do I look like I need help from you?"[76]
• "That's a lot of 'who shot John'."[77]
• "This is my playpen."[76]

Sheindlin's regular phrases on the program became known as "Judyisms".[78] Some of these Judyisms were intended to provide a lesson, such as "A good deed never goes unpunished", "Beauty fades, dumb is forever", "If It doesn't make sense, it's not true", and, "Do you know when teenagers are lying? When their mouths move."[76] Sheindlin used the position of television arbitrator to impart guidance, direction, and life lessons not only to her litigants but her viewers and public at large. An example of guidance often stressed by Sheindlin was to be independent through employment, especially so as to not live off the government where unwarranted or other people directly where oppression from or friction with the provider may eventuate. In the former, Sheindlin could often be quoted as stating, "No, you aren't supporting yourself. Byrd and I are supporting you."[79][80] Sheindlin had stated that the main message she wants viewers to take from her program is that people must take responsibility for their actions and do the right thing.[42][81]

1996–1998

Judge Judy went on the air in September 1996. By the end of October of that year, the show was averaging only a 1.5 rating, putting it in the mid-rank of the 159 syndicated shows on the air. At that time, it was never expected that the show's ratings would ever compete with highly successful daytime TV shows of that era, such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Rosie O'Donnell Show and The Jerry Springer Show.[42] According to Biography's documentary film on Sheindlin, "Judge Judy: Sitting in Judgment" (aired February 21, 2000),[82] producers of Judge Judy were disappointed that the show was barely making it on the radar. However, it did not take long for the court show to pick up momentum as Judge Judy rose to a 2.1 rating by the end of that first season. By its 2nd season (1997–98), the court show had already risen into the 4 ratings ranges, averaging a 4.3.[83]

The 3rd season (1998–99) of Judge Judy was the show's first season as the highest-rated program in daytime television, having surpassed the highly rated Jerry Springer Show and even then daytime powerhouse The Oprah Winfrey Show for the first time[84] (King World Productions which launched Oprah was a corporate sibling of CBS Television Distribution, which distributed Judge Judy): the program's ratings more than doubled to a 5.6 for that season, marking Judge Judy as an early success.[8]

It was due, in part, to this early success that daytime television began to feature more court programming, such as a revival of The People's Court that re-debuted in fall 1997. In 1999, Judge Judy moved from Worldvision Enterprises to Paramount Domestic Television, which also distributed her stablemate Judge Joe Brown and eventually Judge Mills Lane. Many other retired judges were given their own court shows in syndication due in large part to Sheindlin's popularity. These include Greg Mathis, Glenda Hatchett, Alex Ferrer, Maria Lopez, Karen Mills-Frances, Cristina Perez, David Young, and many others. In addition, the series helped to spawn various nontraditional court programs. These include the reality-based revival of Divorce Court, which was originally presided over by Mablean Ephriam from 1999-2006 and Lynn Toler from 2006-2020 and will be now helmed by Faith Jenkins; the short-lived Power of Attorney, capturing various high-profile attorneys arguing cases for litigants in front of Andrew Napolitano; Street Court, which took litigation outside of the courtroom; Jury Duty, featuring an all-celebrity jury hearing cases presided over by Bruce Cutler; etc. Furthermore, the role of Judge Judy in the rise in popularity of daytime court shows enabled several other non-real life judges to preside over courts, such as Nancy Grace, Jeanine Pirro, and Gloria Allred.

Also, partly due to Judge Judy's popularity, the producers of The People's Court decided to replace Ed Koch with Judy's husband, Jerry Sheindlin, as their presiding judge during The People's Court's present incarnation 3rd season/overall series 15th season (1999–2000); this meant that husband and wife would be either part of the same afternoon lineup or competing for ratings against each other. This experiment, however, did not last long as midway through The People's Court's fourth season, Jerry was replaced by the show's current judge, Marilyn Milian.[8][85]

1999–2006

For its 4th season (1999–2000), Judy's ratings exploded to their highest to date, peaking at a 9.3 rating. At this point, Sheindlin's courtroom series was still more than ever the highest rated program in daytime. It was also at this point that Judge Judy held a record of increasing its ratings for each successive season since its debut. Because of the program's success, Judge Judy began airing at better time periods.[8]

It was by the show's 5th season (2000–01) that Judy's streak of growing in ratings from season to season since its debut had ceased. However, the court show still remained the highest-rated program in daytime that season with a 5.6 rating.[50] By the 6th season (2001–02), Judy was no longer the highest-rated program in daytime, beaten out by The Oprah Winfrey Show. The court show averaged a 5.0 rating that season.[50] Likewise, for her 7th season (2002–03), she also averaged a 5.0.[50] For her 8th season (2003–04), Sheindlin finally reversed the season-to-season downward turn in her ratings by averaging a 7.1.[8] Of the seven running court shows during the 2004–05 season, most of them earned a 3.63 rating; however, Judge Judy pulled in a 7.5 rating for that season (the show's 9th).[8] For her 10th season (2005–06), Judge Judy averaged a 4.8 rating.[86] Judge Judy averaged 4.6 rating for her 11th season (2006–07). Meanwhile, other programs in the genre were trailing Sheindlin from a vast distance (as has been the case since the debut of Judge Judy): Judge Joe Brown averaged a 2.9 rating; The People's Court averaged a 2.7; Judge Mathis averaged a 2.4; Divorce Court averaged a 2.0; Judge Alex averaged 1.9; Judge Hatchett averaged a 1.5; rookies--Cristina's Court averaged a 1.4, and Judge Maria Lopez came in last, averaging a 1.0 rating.[87]

2007–2011

For its 12th season (2007–08), Judge Judy averaged a 4.8 rating (4.8 HH AA%/7.4 HH GAA% rating) and 9.9 million average daily viewers.[45] Judy was the only first-run syndication program to increase in ratings for that season from the previous, leading CBS to immediately extend her contract through the 2012–13 season.[88] For its 13th season (2008–09), the show averaged a 4.2 rating (4.2 HH AA%/6.5 HH GAA% rating) and 9.02 million average daily viewers.[89] Its 14th season (2009–10) marked the first season in nearly a decade since the 2000–01 season that any daytime television program had been able to surpass The Oprah Winfrey Show's ratings (Judge Judy is also the show in question that during the 2000–01 television season surpassed The Oprah Winfrey Show in daytime TV ratings): Judy broke Winfrey's near decade-long streak with a 4.4 rating (4.4 HH AA%/6.9 HH GAA% rating) and 9.6 million average daily viewers.[90] It was also at that point that Sheindlin's courtroom series became the highest rated show in all of daytime television programming.[91] Judy secured this title in its 15th season (2010–11) as the program remained ahead of Oprah in her [Oprah] final season and the highest-rated daytime television offering, averaging a 5.11 rating[92] and 9.6 million viewers.[93] During this season, Judy also became the highest rated show in first-run syndication.[94] Late that same season in May 2011, as a result of continued high ratings, CBS again extended Sheindlin's contract, this time through the 2014–15 season (the show's 19th).[95]

In the first post-Oprah television season, the court show continued its reign as the most dominant show in daytime and also became the top-rated show in syndication, its 16th season (2011–12) racking up a 7.0 rating and 9.29 million average daily viewers.[96] As the top-rated show in all of syndication at this point, Sheindlin defeated first-run syndication programs and off-network syndication programs (rerun episodes of programs off their original network).[92] The title of overall syndication leader was previously held by off-network syndicated program Two and a Half Men (2010–11) and before that, first-run syndicated program Wheel of Fortune (2009–10).[97][98]

Judge Judy's ratings boost in its 16th season and late into the show's 15th season was at least partly due to Nielsen's change in methodology, in April 2011. This variation benefits programs that air multiple, differing episodes a day. The updated method is totalling ratings points through adding all viewings for each daily episode–even if one of those viewings come from an individual already counted in as having watched another of the show's daily episodes. For example, as Judge Judy airs two different episodes per day, two ratings points are counted for every one person who has watched both the first and second daily airings. This is as opposed to one person's viewing of the two daily episodes amounting to only one ratings point. Prior to the convert, the latest method was only used in GAA numbers, while the previous method was used in average audience measure. Some court shows air in one hour blocks and thus do not benefit at all from the updated method.[92] Worth noting, however, is that shows airing multiple daily episodes may not directly benefit monetarily as the rating system that local stations use to sell to advertisers is based upon the prior method.[99]

2012–2016

For its 17th season (2012–13), Judge Judy once again pulled in a 7.0 household rating.[94][100] The series delivered 9.63 million average daily viewers that season, growing by +32,000 viewers over the prior season.[101] Despite this, Judy lost its 1st place spot as the ratings leader in all of syndication that season, descending to 2nd place, only a tad behind The Big Bang Theory (off-network syndicate) which took home a 7.1 for that season. Still and all, this was the 3rd season in a row that Judy earned the title of ratings leader in all of first-run syndication.[94] Moreover, this was the 4th consecutive season that Judy was the ratings leader in all of daytime television programming.[102] For the 18th season (2013–14), Judy rose to a 7.2 household rating and brought in 9.94 million viewers, gaining 8% over its prior season. Also for this season, the show reclaimed the title as highest rated program in all of daytime (5th consecutive time, 8th time overall) and all of syndication (3rd time).[103][104] The show's 19th season (2014–15) pulled in a 7.0 household rating and remained the highest rated program in both daytime television as well as all of syndication.[105] The 20th season (2015–16) was Judy's 3rd consecutive year as syndication's top strip, the court show averaging a 7.0 full-season household rating.[106]

2017–present

For its 21st season (2016–17), Judge Judy trounced all of its competitors in daytime and all of syndication. The court show scored a 6.8 household rating for its 21st season.[107][108] For the 22nd season (2017–18), Judy attained a 6.9 live plus same day household average, well ahead of anything else in syndication. It marked the show's 5th straight year as the leader in all of syndication ratings and the 9th straight year as the leader in first-run syndication ratings.[109] For the 23rd season (2018–19), it was reported by Nielsen that Judy topped first-run syndication ratings for the 10th straight year with 6.8 household rating.[110]

Judge Judy, which premiered on September 16, 1996, reportedly revitalized the court show genre.[111] Only two other arbitration-based reality court shows preceded it, The People's Court (its first life canceled in 1993 from low ratings) and Jones & Jury (lasting only the 1994–95 season, short-lived from low ratings).[111] Sheindlin has been credited with introducing the "tough" adjudicating approach into the judicial genre, which has led to several imitators.[112] The only two court shows that outnumber Judge Judy's seasons, The People's Court and Divorce Court, have both lasted via multiple disunited lives of production and shifting arbiters (and in its pre-1999 form, the latter was dramatized via court transcripts of past proceedings). Thus Sheindlin's span as a television jurist or arbitrator has lasted longer than any other—a distinction that earned her a place in the Guinness World Records in September 2015. With no cancellations or temporary endings in its series run, Judge Judy also has the longest-lasting individual production life of any court show.[113][114]

In March 2015, Sheindlin and CBS Television Distribution extended their contract through the program's 25th season (2020–21).[5] Sheindlin revealed in a March 2020 interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that Judge Judy will officially conclude its series run, followed by the new Judy Justice program.[6]

A three time Emmy Award winner, Judge Judy won its first Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program in 2013, its 15th nomination.[115] It was the first long-running, highly rated court show to win an Emmy. The court show won Emmys in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

Judge Judy's daytime audience was composed of approximately seventy-five percent women and twenty-five percent men.[8] In February 2014, it was reported that Judge Judy's audience was mostly composed of older women, African Americans and Latinos.[116]

Despite her widespread popularity, Sheindlin's behavior and treatment of the parties that have appeared before her has often been the subject of criticism. Regular viewers of the program have also been criticized as sadistic for their delight in watching Sheindlin engage in her typical behaviors.[117] One such example of criticism has come from the first star of arbitration-based reality court shows, Joseph Wapner. Wapner, who presided over The People's Court from 1981 to 1993, was a long-time critic of Sheindlin. On November 26, 2002, Wapner criticized Judge Judy's courtroom behavior, stating "She is not portraying a judge as I view a judge should act. Judge Judy is discourteous, and she's abrasive. She's not slightly insulting. She's insulting in capital letters."[118]

Judge Judy replied through her publicist, stating, "I refuse to engage in similar mud slinging. I don't know where or by whom Judge Wapner was raised. But my parents taught me when you don't have something nice to say about someone, say nothing. Clearly, Judge Wapner was absent on the day that lesson was taught."[118]

Since then, Wapner had stated, "She is a disgrace to the profession. She does things I don't think a judge should do. She tells people to shut up. She's rude. She's arrogant. She demeans people. If she does this on purpose, then that's even worse. Judges need to observe certain standards of conduct. She just doesn't do it and I resent that. The public is apt to gain the impression that this is how actual judges conduct themselves. It says 'judge' on the nameplate on the bench and she's wearing a robe."[119]

Sheindlin had stated, "As a young person, when I had watched The People's Court. . . I said 'you know what, I could do that.' And at least as well because while Joe Wapner is a very good judge, [he] didn't have much of a sense of humor. And I always knew from a very practical perspective that you have to marry those two things in order to be successful in entertainment."[13]

In a November 2013 interview with Larry King, Sheindlin was asked whether she enjoyed watching Wapner on The People's Court. She replied, "Meh! Oatmeal!" Following this, King asked her what if any other television judges then did she enjoy, to which Sheindlin answered "Mills Lane" of Judge Mills Lane.[120]

In a September 2014, Rickey Smiley Morning Show interview, Judge Mathis (second longest reigning TV judge/arbitrator, three seasons behind Sheindlin with 20 seasons as of 2018–19) was asked what three other court show judges he'd most enjoy sharing a meal with. For his first choice, he answered (laughing) "Are you kidding?! It would be Judge Judy at the head of the table. Oh my goodness, that Judge Judy is something else." His second choice was Judge Marilyn Milian, and third Judge Mills Lane.[121]

In August 2010, rapper, singer and songwriter Nicki Minaj stated that she has an obsession with Judge Judy and that all of her free time is spent watching the program.[122]

In February 2013, the head football coach for the San Francisco 49ers, Jim Harbaugh, was asked about the importance of truthfulness and enthusiastically remarked, "Somebody that's not truthful? That's big to me. I'm a big fan of the Judge Judy show. When you lie in Judge Judy's courtroom, it's over. Your credibility is completely lost, and you stand no chance of winning that case. So I learned that from her. It's very powerful and true. If somebody lies to you, how can you trust anything they ever say after that?"[123][124][125][126]

A couple months later, Harbaugh would even attend tapings of Judge Judy along with his father as audience members. As part of the experience, Harbaugh and his father had lunch with Sheindlin and visited with her both before and after tapings. After meeting Sheindlin and seeing cases in person, Harbaugh stated, "I've never seen Judy adjudicate one improperly. She is so smart. She is so good. I could sit there and watch those cases all day. I really could. It's fun to watch somebody that does their job well. I could watch Judge Judy do cases all day. I could watch people play football who do their job really well. People who direct traffic. I get a real kick out of watching people who direct traffic do it. I've done it for hours. I like football the most, but Judge Judy is right up there. She's the best."[123][124]

Brad Adgate, senior vice president of research for Horizon Media, said "Judge Judy is the new Oprah of daytime TV-actually, she was [already] beating Oprah while Oprah was still on."[127]

While he was President and CEO of CBS Corporation, Leslie Moonves stated, "Over the last few decades, there have been very few shows that have achieved the remarkable success that she has. Not only has Judy sustained that success year after year, how many shows grow in their 15th or 16th year in syndication? She started as a fresh voice and she's been a remarkable presence in daytime television ever since."[128]

Many regular viewers and supporters of Judge Judy had defended Sheindlin's treatment of the parties that have appeared before her by describing the parties as an "endless parade of idiots" that Sheindlin had to put up with.[129][130][131]

In December 2007, Jonathan Sebastien, a former producer of the Judge Judy show of seven years, filed a lawsuit against the production company in L.A. County Superior Court for wrongful termination. Sebastien claimed that when he proposed certain cases for the show involving black litigants, Douthit turned them down with his alleged reasons being he did not want to see any more black people; their behaviors were too ghetto and more suited for television jurist Joe Brown; and they needed more pretty, upscale white people. Sebastien claimed that in January 2007, he objected to the alleged discrimination in a meeting and was verbally abused by Douthit. Three months later on March 30, Sebastien stated he was fired with the reason given that rating numbers were down. Sebastien claimed that the real reason he was fired was because he opposed his boss's alleged "discriminatory selection process".[132][133]

That same day in December 2007, the show's former associate producer Karen Needle was also fired. She later sued Douthit, claiming that she was wrongfully terminated because she was too old, 64 at the time. Sheindlin was not named as a defendant. Needle, who helped book audiences for the program, stated the reason she was given for being fired was "unspecified conflict from her audience work." Needle said she began suffering from back pain, sometimes even resorting to lying on the ground in pain, and when she asked her bosses for a new chair, nothing was done. According to the complaint, two weeks before Needle was fired, she took off four days to assist her ailing 88-year-old mother. Needle stated, "There is a lot of terrible stuff going on if two people file separate lawsuits. It's a toxic situation over there. This is supposed to be Judge Judy, the voice of justice, and yet her own staff isn't treated well. What is she getting paid all that money for if her own staff is treated with such little decency?"[133]

In March 2013, a lawsuit was filed against Sheindlin by Patrice Jones, the estranged wife of Douthit. Jones alleged Douthit and Sheindlin had conspired to permit Sheindlin to buy Christofle fine china and Marley cutlery owned by Jones. She said Sheindlin had paid Douthit $50,815 for the items without her knowledge to deprive her of her valuables,[134] and she sought $514,421 from Sheindlin. The suit ended after Sheindlin returned the tableware to Douthit and Jones agreed to pay Douthit $12,500 and have the tableware handed back to her.[135]

On October 17, 2013, Big Ticket Television and producers of Judge Judy filed a lawsuit against Ignacio De Los Angeles. The suit was made against the individual for posting an episode of Judge Judy on YouTube. Ignacio ignored the command.[136][137]

On March 12, 2014, Sheindlin filed a lawsuit of her own for the first time in her life. The suit was filed against Hartford, Connecticut, personal injury lawyer John Haymond and his law firm. In the lawsuit, Sheindlin accused Haymond and his firm of using her television image without consent in advertisements that falsely suggested she endorsed him and his firm. In March 2013, Sheindlin's producer allegedly told the firm that the use of her image was not permitted, but ads continued. The lawsuit filed in federal court sought more than $75,000 in damages. Sheindlin said in her statement that any money she wins through the lawsuit will go toward college scholarships through the Her Honor Mentoring Program. Sheindlin described the unauthorized use of her name as "outrageous", stating, "Mr. Haymond is a lawyer and should know better."[138][139][140] Haymond later filed a countersuit for punitive damages and attorney's fees, alleging defamation of him and his firm by Sheindlin.[141] Haymond insisted that local affiliates asked him to appear in Judge Judy promos to promote Sheindlin for which he obliged.[142][143] On August 8, 2014, it was reported that the case between Sheindlin and Haymond settled out of court in a resolution that favored Sheindlin. Haymond will be donating money to Sheindlin's charity, Her Honor Mentoring Program.[144]

On March 14, 2016, talent agency Rebel Entertainment and its president, Richard Lawrence, filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against CBS Television Distribution, claiming the media giant failed to pay the agency its contractually-agreed-to share of the show's profits, totalling millions of dollars. Rebel also claimed they were owed for their contributions to launching the program and discovering Sheindlin through their terminated employees Kaye Switzer and Sandi Spreckman. The lawsuit alleged that CBS hadn't paid Rebel for the past six years, claiming that the show operated at a loss, and alleging that this was primarily due to Sheindlin's annual salary boost to $45 and then $47 million. The lawsuit went on to attack Sheindlin's salary as being far too high. Rebel described it as "exorbitant" and "grossly inconsistent with customary practice in the television industry" and claims that similarly successful talk show hosts weren't paid nearly as much. Further, Rebel claimed they were entitled to be consulted before any spin-offs of the show were produced, but were not when Hot Bench (another courtroom-arbitrated show) was launched by Sheindlin and her producers in 2014.[145][146] In response to the lawsuit, Sheindlin had stated:

The fact that Richard Lawrence is complaining about my salary is actually hilarious. I met Mr. Lawrence for 2 hours some 21 years ago. Neither I nor anyone involved in the day-to-day production of my program has heard from him in 20 years. Not a card, not a gift, not a flower, not a congratulations. Yet he has somehow received over $17,000,000 from my program. My rudimentary math translates that into $8,500,000 an hour for Mr. Lawrence. Not a bad payday. Now complaining about not getting enough money, that's real chutzpah.[145]

When Sheindlin was deposed for the case in the summer of 2016, she said "CBS had no choice but to pay me what I wanted because otherwise I could take it wherever I wanted to take it or do it myself. Their back's to the wall. They pay me the money that they do because they have no choice. They can't find another one."[147]

In an April 2018 verdict on this case, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joanne O'Donnell found that Sheindlin was not grossly overpaid and that her salary did not constitute a breach of contract, rather her salary is a result of the "resounding success of her program and without its namesake star would not continue". That being said, Judge O'Donnell ruled partially in Rebel's favor, agreeing that it was a breach of contract for the defendants to have failed to consult Lawrence before launching "spin-off" series, Hot Bench. Dissatisfied with being granted one part of their motion while denied the other, Bryan Freedman (Lawrence's attorney) stated that the plaintiffs intended to appeal Judge O'Donnell's verdict. Freedman was quoted as stating, "As for admitting and then ignoring Rebel's uncontroverted expert opinion evidence that frontloading the 45 million dollar salary of Ms. Sheindlin was not consistent with the United States television industry, the court committed a reversible error. That issue will be decided by the court of appeal."[148]

On January 19, 2018, a breach-of-contract lawsuit—similar and loosely related to the case filed by Rebel Entertainment—was filed in the Los Angeles Superior Court against Sheindlin, CBS Corporation, CBS Studios and Big Ticket Television by Kaye Switzer and the trust of the now deceased Sandi Spreckman.[149] Switzer and Spreckman are former employees of Rebel Entertainment, terminated by the employer. Switzer and Spreckman's trustee, Jay Robinson, claimed they "discovered" and introduced Sheindlin to producer Larry Little, asserting that if not for this move that there would be no Judge Judy and thus they are owed monetary royalties. The lawsuit also stated that Sheindlin sold "The Judge Judy Library" to CBS Television Distribution for over $95,000,000. Switzer and the Spreckman's trustee contend that they were not paid any monetary rewards by Sheindlin, CBS or Big Ticket related to this transaction.[150] The two women have a long history of filing lawsuits over the same matter against Sheindlin and her Judge Judy business partners dating back to the year 2000.[151]

An insider claimed that Sheindlin was not concerned about the lawsuit, regards the subject of "who is owed what as just background noise", and believed that the success of her show came from nothing more than the "sweat of her brow" and the force of her personality. According to the same insider, Sheindlin said she "was always fond of Kaye and Sandi", they were fired before her show ever made it on the air, and that she "never entered a contract with Kaye and Sandi personally."[152]