small claims court TV shows

[Deleted]

Have you ever been on Judge Judy, Peoples Court or any of those shows?  Or considered it?   What happened??

These shows intrigue me.  I want to hear stories.

[UMaineTeach]

never have, never would

[My]

When I was a teen my family was being sued by a lady for property damage. It is a long story, but it basically had to do with my dad doing work for this lady and her not paying. So we told her we would sue her for the money she owed, and in return she sued us for some random items that were damaged on her property that we had nothing to do with. Anyway, the Judge Judy show contacted us because it was a unique case I guess and we were all set to go but then the lady changed her mind and said no. And then Judge Joe Brown contacted us, but the lady still refused to go, so we had to go to regular court. We were so close!! Sure wish we could have gone on....I love court TV!

[takeonyou]

A friend did it. JJ contacted her bc it was a special case (read as she was being sued for an insane amount over a minor complaint and JJ wanted to ream the plantiff's ass).

Both parties get a $400 fee for agreeing to be filmed. If you win, you get the judgement paid by the show. If you lose, oh well - the show pays that bill. You just have to drop your civil case and agree to abide by JJ's ruling.

[AAM2012]

The show pays the judgment?! What satisfaction is that!

[takeonyou]

I think the satisfaction is in JJ embarrassing the hell out of the other party.

[7costanza]

I know someone that was contacted to be on it, but the other party did not agree (she def would have been embarrassed). I think they scour the courts for unusual/entertaining cases, people aren't brining cases to them from what I understand.

[vegas]

I have had clients who were asked to be on these shows but they declined. When DH was in law school he applied to work for one of these shows. The job involved going down to the courthouse a few times a week and searching the docket for interesting cases that could appear on the show. Like a pp said, once a good case is identified the parties are contacted and asked if they want to participate. If they do they get a free trip to the show but they have to agree to dismiss their case in their local court and agree to abide by the ruling of the tv judge.

[vegas]

Also, a former judge in my jurisdiction became a judge on one of these shows and she said that in typical reality tv fashion, most of the drama is staged/set up.

[expatpumpkin]

Feb 8, 2013 21:23:23 GMT -5 AAM2012 said:

The show pays the judgment?! What satisfaction is that!

The satisfaction of actually getting paid

A judgement in civil court is no guarantee of receiving money.  You can't squeeze blood from a turnip, and so many of the litigants appear to be of very modest means and/or run their personal finances irresponsibly.  


Deadbeats are deadbeats, and a civil court judgement isn't going to change that.  At least a JJ ruling means you got paid.

[peachdragon]

Did you know that Judge Judy makes $45M year? Holy shit.

[Deleted]

Feb 8, 2013 21:30:10 GMT -5 takeonyou said:

I think the satisfaction is in JJ embarrassing the hell out of the other party.

You'd just better be sure you're right.  And the other person is a bigger idiot.  And that you have ALL your paperwork.


I'm continually amazed by the number of people who start spewing claims and didn't bring their "proof".  Doesn't everyone know the fastest way to piss off JJ is to have no proof?

[hurricanedrunk]

I never have nor would I consider it. I will admit that I watch these types of shows with glee.

[holly116]

One of my best friends was on Judge Joe Brown several years ago, before i knew her lol. She was suing her ex and she won. The main attraction for her was the free trip to LA with a friend. I'd love to see the tape.

[kwynn]

Feb 9, 2013 11:05:01 GMT -5 peachdragon said:

Did you know that Judge Judy makes $45M year? Holy shit.

That's a lot of Rent-a-Center rims and ex-boyfriend's cell phone bills

(If you don't watch JJ, you won't get this---but 99% of the cases seem to be about couples that split up and have a discrepancy about bills or ppl that bought ridiculous stuff at a rent to own place and then borrowed money from someone else to pay for it).