The Town of Odyssey

What is your opinion on the TV shows set in a "real" courtroom and the judgments made in those courtrooms? Any thoughts on the ideas presented in this article? (if you don't want to read the whole thing--at least scroll down to page 13 where it shows a table of the opinions of jurors who have watched a lot of those shows and compares them to the opinions of jurors who are not viewers of the court shows.)
http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/ ... eckdam.pdf

I only ever occasionally glance at those because they're kind of funny at times. Once they had a horse in the courtroom...

That was quite the interesting article - I wasn't aware that it was an arbitration and that the show paid the judgements. I've occasionally watched Judge Judy - my granny likes to watch her. I've often wondered how a real judge could be so rude and obviously opinionated. Now I know - they aren't acting as judges in a real trial.

I sometimes watched Judge Judy (and the like) as a munchkin because it was one of the few "bad" shows I could watch.

DanP740 wrote:I only ever occasionally glance at those because they're kind of funny at times. Once they had a horse in the courtroom...

A horse...wow....

Laura Ingalls wrote:That was quite the interesting article - I wasn't aware that it was an arbitration and that the show paid the judgements. I've occasionally watched Judge Judy - my granny likes to watch her. I've often wondered how a real judge could be so rude and obviously opinionated. Now I know - they aren't acting as judges in a real trial.

Yes, thank goodness...I flipped it on the other day and was like, wow, there is NO way this can be real--Judges shouldn't act like that...I looked Judge Judy up, and apparently she used to be a real judge. But I feel like if she was truly for justice and truth that she'd portray a better image--or at least be honest about what her show is. I can see how the shows would be entertaining, but I think it is sad that it is so misleading and affects the public so much.

American Eagle wrote:I sometimes watched Judge Judy (and the like) as a munchkin because it was one of the few "bad" shows I could watch.

HAHA... I think that was a show that my parents wouldn't have been happy to find me watching...lol.

What is majorly frustrating to me is that the people watching the shows make up a large portion of our juries. People who have never otherwise seen a real legal proceeding or been educated on laws--or even appropriate behavior in the courtroom. People who think that these arguments are happening in a real New York courtroom and are being judged by the law. Who don't realize that they are merely watching arbitration, and that the only power that the judge has is the power granted to him or her by the participants' signed contract. Yes, these shows may be interesting, and often the judges ARE useful in coming up with a satisfactory conclusion to a set of circumstances. HOWEVER, they are also very misleading and give people a very wrong perception of court--as the ONLY disclaimer is typically a briefly flashed note at the very end of the show. It's scary to think of how many jurors walk into the court expecting it to be exactly like the shows they watch, and therefore try to look for things they see on the show to give them an indication on how they should vote--rather than deciding on the facts themselves.

Honestly I like Judge Judy.
Except for thats there pretty judge!

I've been in some courtrooms that could easily be mistaken for a Judge Judy set.