Judge Judy creates new show to teach viewers about 'crapshoot' justice system
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A new television show created by Judge Judy called Hot Bench uses three judges instead of one to decide small claims cases.
The concept is apparently working. According to the New York Times, Hot Bench is “a surprise syndication hit, proving that sometimes all it takes to revive a tired television genre is a single format tweak, a leap of faith by local stations and the willingness of the American public to play along.”
Though the new show doesn’t have the television ratings of Judge Judy, it is the most popular new syndicated show of the 2014-15 season. Household ratings have jumped about 50 percent since debut of the new show, the Times says.
Judy Sheindlin, who is Judge Judy on TV, told the Times that having multiple judges deliberate cases teaches viewers that lawsuits don’t’ have a predestined outcome. “People rely too much on the judicial system to be perfectly calibrated,” Sheindlin said. “Very often, it’s a crapshoot. I wanted people to see that when you go to court you can never be sure of the outcome. The people hearing and determining the cases bring all their history with them.”
Judges on the show are criminal defense lawyer Larry Bakman, civil litigator Tanya Acker and former Brooklyn Judge Patricia DiMango (deemed “the clear breakout” by the Times).
