Here's how the show works: its producers look for interesting, real-life small claims cases that have been filed around the country (and, as such, are part of the public record), then get both the plaintiff and defendant to agree to legally-binding arbitration (and rights to broadcast their "trial"), to let Judge Judy formally settle the matter. Of course, there's always the potential that one might come away looking like a first-class idiot, but Judge Judy's producers offer another incentive: even if the plaintiff wins, the show picks up the tab on any judgment against the defendant, and both parties receive a modest appearance fee regardless of the outcome, so no matter what happens both sides walk away with some money in the end. In other words, all there is to lose is one's dignity.

Though a big part of Judge Judy's appeal is watching people make fools out of the themselves, parading their dirty laundry, bad manners, and lack of common sense before a national audience, in its defense the show is actually pretty educational about the way the law works, its limitations and requirements. It also offers a lot of good advice, mostly by bad example, on how not to conduct oneself in court. You'd think after years of Judge Wapner and Judge Judy people would've learned by now that you don't come to court dressed like you're stopping in on your way to a summertime BBQ, that you don't forget to bring your receipts and other documentation, and that you never never never interrupt the judge when he or she is talking.

The packaging doesn't make this clear, but Judge Judy: Justice Served is a compilation of nine cases plus a lot of extra features, some of which are quite good. The cases are well-chosen, each representing a different type of small-claims case. In syndication the show is top-heavy with bickering ex-couples, e.g., deadbeat fathers juggling multiple girlfriends and child support payments. The selection here is much more interesting. In one case a high school graduate sues a limo company that, through their negligence, results in the young woman and her party missing their prom. The company offers up one lame excuse after another for their alarming incompetence, including a driver who can't follow simple instructions and claims not to understand the meaning of the word "map."

In another particularly juicy case full of hard-earned comeuppance, a young working man engages a law firm to represent him in a custody battle. The law firm takes his $800 but then does absolutely nothing to help him, though they do countersuit for unpaid legal bills. Indeed, on the very day he's supposed to appear in court, in desperation the man goes back to the law offices for help, but is told he'll need to "schedule an appointment." Judge Judy is appalled, urging the man to file a formal complaint with the bar association, which elicits a cheer from the gallery.

Unquestionably, the most shocking case is saved for last. After an underage teenage girl dies in an automobile accident, the owner of the car sues the dead girl's mother for the damage to her vehicle, this despite the fact that the plaintiff left the keys in the ignition and gave permission to her own 14-year-old son, also in the car at the time of the accident but uninjured, to drive. As the defendant understandably sobs at this unconscionable act of callousness, both the plaintiff and her son (with glazed-over, dead eyes peering through a chubby frame) show no remorse for their complicity in the girl's death: the bad seed son appears amused by all the attention, while the plaintiff is openly contemptuous of this poor woman's grief.

Video & Audio

Judge Judy: Justice Served is presented in its original full frame format on a single-sided disc. The undated cases are up to contemporary television standards, as is the audio. There are no subtitle options.

Extra Features

Included as supplements are two 60 Minutes interviews, significantly the one that established Sheindlin as potential star material, and which includes footage of her on the bench in a Manhattan family court, duking it out with court-appointed attorneys. Judyisms: Judy at Her Best is a montage of the TV judge making familiar, trademark remarks likes, "On your best day you're not as smart as I am on your worst day!" There's footage of Sheindlin receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk-of-Fame (in attendance is her husband, Jerry, who briefly sat on the bench in a revival of The People's Court, and Merv Griffin, in one of his last public appearances prior to his death). Finally, there are Judge Judy Promos, a supplement of little value.

Parting Thoughts

This reviewer almost never watched Judge Judy in syndication, partly because of the incessant commercial breaks. Minus that constant interruption, the cases on Judge Judy: Justice Served make for moderately interesting entertainment. (Surprisingly) Recommended.

** Considering the shows were produced by different companies, I'd be surprised if there wasn't litigation over their similarities.

　 Film historian Stuart Galbraith IV's most recent essays appear in Criterion's three-disc Seven Samurai DVD and BCI Eclipse's The Quiet Duel. His audio commentary for Invasion of Astro Monster is now available.