Sordid or educational? 'Deadbeat' TV show shames child-support scofflaws with real courtroom footage
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A Louisville, Kentucky, reality TV show that features real-life courtroom footage of defendants accused of failing to pay child support is popular with viewers, but critics are hoping for a cancellation.
The “stars” of the WBNA show Deadbeat are two Jefferson district court judges who preside over the cases, one of whom is facing a contested election, the Courier-Journal reports.
WBNA’s general manager has defended the station’s show as presenting teaching moments that also have a shaming function. But critics say it exploits the criminal defendants whose courtroom appearances end up on TV.
Teasers for upcoming shows include:
• “A man who has had 14 children with 14 different women. What will the court do with this baby maker?”
• “He’s a landscaper, but he hasn’t been planting any coin in his baby mama’s pocket.”
Chief Public Defender Dan Goyette told the Courier-Journal in an email that Deadbeat is the sort of “sordid TV program that exploits people in difficult circumstances.” Goyett says the show makes a “mockery of the legal proceedings, detracts from the dignity of the courtroom and cheapens the judicial process.”
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell also expressed reservations about the show and said there is no evidence it has spurred increased payment of child support. Defendants are in “difficult circumstances and are manipulated for entertainment purposes,” he told the Courier-Journal.
On Monday, Chief Justice John D. Minton Jr. weighed in. In a statement, he said that “using courtroom footage for the purpose of entertainment is beneath the dignity of the court” and he would “discourage judges from participating.”
