WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.940 Welcome to today's deep dive. You know, if I 00:00:03.940 --> 00:00:06.059 were trying to gain the algorithms right now, 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:09.000 I'd probably write an Apple podcast title for 00:00:09.000 --> 00:00:11.679 this specific deep dive that reads something 00:00:11.679 --> 00:00:14.199 like something incredibly clicky, right? Exactly. 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:16.949 Something like the billion dollar gavel. The 00:00:16.949 --> 00:00:19.390 evolution of TV justice and Judge Judy. That 00:00:19.390 --> 00:00:21.929 is undeniably catchy. Right. And I'd probably 00:00:21.929 --> 00:00:23.929 stuff the episode description with a bunch of 00:00:23.929 --> 00:00:26.989 heavy SEO keywords. Things like Judith Shineland 00:00:26.989 --> 00:00:30.609 biography, reality courtroom shows, streaming, 00:00:30.870 --> 00:00:34.030 television economics. And American legal system 00:00:34.030 --> 00:00:36.759 analysis. Yes. You get it. It would be an absolute 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:39.659 marketer's dream. But, you know, algorithm optimization 00:00:39.659 --> 00:00:42.060 aside, the actual source material, the biographical 00:00:42.060 --> 00:00:44.399 profile we are looking at today is about the 00:00:44.399 --> 00:00:46.340 one and only Judith Shineland. Or as the entire 00:00:46.340 --> 00:00:49.100 world has known her for decades, Judge Judy. 00:00:49.259 --> 00:00:52.159 Exactly. Judge Judy. And our mission today is 00:00:52.159 --> 00:00:55.060 to trace this honestly, truly wild trajectory. 00:00:55.740 --> 00:00:57.920 We're going to figure out how a frustrated corporate 00:00:57.920 --> 00:01:00.740 lawyer became a tough as nails New York family 00:01:00.740 --> 00:01:02.920 court judge. And then somehow transformed into 00:01:02.920 --> 00:01:05.540 a daytime television titan. Yeah. A global pop 00:01:05.540 --> 00:01:08.560 culture phenomenon. It is. It's a phenomenal 00:01:08.560 --> 00:01:10.920 trajectory. And what makes it so compelling is 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:13.260 that this isn't just a story about television 00:01:13.260 --> 00:01:16.239 history. Right. It is a masterclass in the intersection 00:01:16.239 --> 00:01:20.370 of law, entertainment and human psychology. When 00:01:20.370 --> 00:01:23.530 you start unpacking the sheer scale of her influence, 00:01:23.829 --> 00:01:26.890 it forces you to look at some uncomfortable truths. 00:01:27.090 --> 00:01:30.189 Oh, for sure. Uncomfortable truths about how 00:01:30.189 --> 00:01:33.189 the public views the legal system. Exactly. How 00:01:33.189 --> 00:01:35.930 we respond to authority figures and, honestly, 00:01:36.069 --> 00:01:38.069 our desperate craving for a black and white version 00:01:38.069 --> 00:01:40.109 of right and wrong. I really love that framing. 00:01:40.450 --> 00:01:43.790 So let's start at the very beginning. Long before 00:01:43.790 --> 00:01:46.510 the fame, the staggering wealth, and that iconic 00:01:46.510 --> 00:01:50.209 lace collar, we are looking at Judith. Susan 00:01:50.209 --> 00:01:52.950 Blum. Born in 1942. Right. In Brooklyn, New York. 00:01:52.989 --> 00:01:54.989 Yeah. And the details about her family dynamic 00:01:54.989 --> 00:01:57.230 are great because they instantly ground her in 00:01:57.230 --> 00:01:59.989 a very recognizable reality. Very relatable. 00:02:00.129 --> 00:02:02.849 Yeah. She described her dentist father as the 00:02:02.849 --> 00:02:05.409 greatest thing since sliced bread and her mother 00:02:05.409 --> 00:02:07.810 as a meat and potatoes kind of gal. Which is 00:02:07.810 --> 00:02:09.849 just so perfectly her. You can already hear the 00:02:09.849 --> 00:02:11.949 roots of that trademark blunt affectionate New 00:02:11.949 --> 00:02:14.560 York delivery. Absolutely. So she goes through 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:16.740 James Madison High School, gets her Bachelor 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:18.900 of Arts in Government from American University 00:02:18.900 --> 00:02:22.620 in 1963, and then earns her Juris Doctor from 00:02:22.620 --> 00:02:25.860 New York Law School in 1965. Which is a milestone 00:02:25.860 --> 00:02:28.379 we shouldn't just gloss over. Oh, entering law 00:02:28.379 --> 00:02:31.879 school in the early 1960s. As a woman, yes. It 00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:34.379 wasn't just an educational step. It was a gauntlet. 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:37.259 The legal profession, and law schools in particular 00:02:37.259 --> 00:02:40.479 back then, were intensely male -dominated environments. 00:02:41.099 --> 00:02:42.860 Right. I mean, the ratios must have been crazy. 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:44.780 They were. She wasn't just learning the law. 00:02:44.900 --> 00:02:47.479 She was learning how to command space and project 00:02:47.479 --> 00:02:50.280 absolute authority in rooms where people probably 00:02:50.280 --> 00:02:53.240 assumed she didn't belong. Wow. And that kind 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:55.930 of environment? builds a very specific type of 00:02:55.930 --> 00:02:58.590 armor. Okay, let's unpack this because you would 00:02:58.590 --> 00:03:00.729 think with that armor, she'd march right into 00:03:00.729 --> 00:03:03.370 a high -stakes courtroom. But her first job after 00:03:03.370 --> 00:03:06.449 passing the New York State Bar in 1965 was actually 00:03:06.449 --> 00:03:09.189 as a corporate lawyer for a cosmetics firm. Which 00:03:09.189 --> 00:03:12.150 is so hard to imagine. Right. I'm trying to picture 00:03:12.150 --> 00:03:15.030 the Judge Judy we know dealing with the minutia 00:03:15.030 --> 00:03:17.810 of corporate cosmetics contracts, and it just 00:03:17.810 --> 00:03:19.990 does not compute. And it didn't compute for her 00:03:19.990 --> 00:03:22.349 either. Not at all. Within two years, she was 00:03:22.349 --> 00:03:24.389 completely dissatisfied with the corporate grind. 00:03:24.610 --> 00:03:26.669 She actually walked away from the job entirely 00:03:26.669 --> 00:03:29.129 to focus on raising her two children. And it's 00:03:29.129 --> 00:03:32.050 so common for people to view stepping back from 00:03:32.050 --> 00:03:34.810 a prestigious corporate job to raise kids as 00:03:34.810 --> 00:03:37.710 a career detour. Or, you know, maybe even a step 00:03:37.710 --> 00:03:40.069 backwards. Sure. Society often frames it that 00:03:40.069 --> 00:03:43.129 way. Exactly. But looking at her timeline, I 00:03:43.129 --> 00:03:44.990 want you to think about how a seemingly step 00:03:44.990 --> 00:03:48.270 backward career pivot can actually be the launch 00:03:48.270 --> 00:03:51.650 pad for a true calling. Because that reset seems 00:03:51.650 --> 00:03:55.050 absolutely necessary for her. So how did she 00:03:55.050 --> 00:03:57.349 eventually find her way to the bench? The pivot 00:03:57.349 --> 00:04:00.539 happened in 1972. A friend informed her of a 00:04:00.539 --> 00:04:02.680 job opening, and she became a prosecutor in the 00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:06.400 New York family court system. Okay. Now, we really 00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:08.000 have to contextualize what the New York family 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:10.960 court system was like in the 1970s and 80s. It 00:04:10.960 --> 00:04:14.180 was notoriously underfunded, emotionally taxing, 00:04:14.180 --> 00:04:17.079 and drowning in a massive backlog of cases. Just 00:04:17.079 --> 00:04:19.959 a chaotic environment. Incredibly grueling, dealing 00:04:19.959 --> 00:04:22.480 with the most complex, tragic elements of human 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:25.019 life. But rather than breaking under that pressure, 00:04:25.199 --> 00:04:28.569 she thrived. She completely owned it. Yeah. Her 00:04:28.569 --> 00:04:30.850 sheer force of will caught the attention of New 00:04:30.850 --> 00:04:35.069 York City Mayor Ed Koch. And by 1982, he appointed 00:04:35.069 --> 00:04:37.769 her as a criminal court judge. And then, just 00:04:37.769 --> 00:04:40.589 four years after that, she was promoted to supervising 00:04:40.589 --> 00:04:43.649 judge in Manhattan's family court division. The 00:04:43.649 --> 00:04:46.129 numbers from her time on the bench are just staggering. 00:04:46.560 --> 00:04:50.060 Over 20 ,000 cases. 20 ,000. That volume is almost 00:04:50.060 --> 00:04:52.699 incomprehensible. It really is. And it's during 00:04:52.699 --> 00:04:54.879 this era that she developed her reputation as 00:04:54.879 --> 00:04:57.339 a tough New York City judge. Though she actually 00:04:57.339 --> 00:05:00.180 pushed back on the labels tough and harsh, right? 00:05:00.420 --> 00:05:03.439 She preferred to frame her style as simply holding 00:05:03.439 --> 00:05:05.920 people accountable. Yes. What's fascinating here 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:08.540 is that we have to ask if processing human lives 00:05:08.540 --> 00:05:11.040 with that kind of rapid fire intensity is actually 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:13.500 a good thing. Because her real life courtroom 00:05:13.500 --> 00:05:15.819 management style was fundamentally born out of 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:18.139 necessity. It was a survival tactic. Exactly. 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:20.899 An illegal system bogged down by delays, excuses 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:24.060 and a crushing docket. Her no nonsense cut through 00:05:24.060 --> 00:05:26.120 the noise approach wasn't a curated persona. 00:05:26.220 --> 00:05:29.000 It was a brutal survival mechanism to keep the 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:30.860 system from collapsing. She just had to move 00:05:30.860 --> 00:05:34.800 cases. Right. But ironically, that exact survival 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:37.939 mechanism perfectly primed her for an entirely 00:05:37.939 --> 00:05:40.980 different medium. Television. Yes. Because that 00:05:40.980 --> 00:05:44.300 real -life reputation is what lit the fuse for 00:05:44.300 --> 00:05:46.740 her national prominence. It really played out 00:05:46.740 --> 00:05:48.879 like a perfect line of dominoes. It started with 00:05:48.879 --> 00:05:51.779 print, didn't it? Yeah, February 1993. A Los 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:54.639 Angeles Times reporter named Josh Gettlin wrote 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:57.680 a profile on her. He painted her as this relentless, 00:05:57.839 --> 00:06:00.540 pragmatic woman determined to make a broken court 00:06:00.540 --> 00:06:03.399 system work for the common good. And in the 90s 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:06.079 media landscape, a major print profile like that 00:06:06.079 --> 00:06:07.980 was essentially a calling card for television 00:06:07.980 --> 00:06:10.480 producers. Oh, absolutely. It led directly to 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:13.720 a segment on CBS's 60 Minutes. The ultimate kingmaker. 00:06:13.959 --> 00:06:16.439 Truly. Getting featured on 60 Minutes back then 00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:18.680 meant you had arrived. That segment broadcast 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:21.540 her attitude to the entire country. It gave her 00:06:21.540 --> 00:06:24.079 a platform that completely transcended the local 00:06:24.079 --> 00:06:26.399 legal community. People were captivated by this 00:06:26.399 --> 00:06:28.639 judge who just refused to entertain bureaucratic 00:06:28.639 --> 00:06:30.740 nonsense. And she capitalized on that momentum 00:06:30.740 --> 00:06:34.079 brilliantly. In 1996, she published her first 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:36.480 book, and the title is quite literally the most 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:39.420 Judge Judy thing ever written. Go on. It's called 00:06:39.420 --> 00:06:41.600 Don't Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining. 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:44.800 The directness is just incredible. Right. She 00:06:44.800 --> 00:06:47.199 retired as a family court judge that same year. 00:06:47.779 --> 00:06:50.220 But obviously, her time with a gavel was just 00:06:50.220 --> 00:06:53.389 beginning. Because in 1995, shortly after the 00:06:53.389 --> 00:06:55.889 60 -minute special, she was approached to preside 00:06:55.889 --> 00:06:58.589 over a new reality courtroom series featuring 00:06:58.589 --> 00:07:01.870 real cases with real rulings. The syndicated 00:07:01.870 --> 00:07:04.750 show that debuted in September 1996. That's the 00:07:04.750 --> 00:07:07.779 one. And she made sure to bring a crucial piece 00:07:07.779 --> 00:07:10.199 of her real -world courtroom with her. Bailiff 00:07:10.199 --> 00:07:13.519 Petrie Byrd. Yes. Officer Byrd had actually served 00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:15.720 as her bailiff in the Manhattan family court 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:18.579 system. He went on to become the longest -serving 00:07:18.579 --> 00:07:21.160 bailiff in courtroom programming history. Their 00:07:21.160 --> 00:07:23.579 dynamic was just magic. Because it couldn't be 00:07:23.579 --> 00:07:26.199 faked by Hollywood casting agents. It was forged 00:07:26.199 --> 00:07:29.180 in the trenches of an actual high -stakes judicial 00:07:29.180 --> 00:07:31.300 system. And the success of the show is difficult 00:07:31.300 --> 00:07:35.050 to overstate. It ran for 25 seasons. At its peak, 00:07:35.189 --> 00:07:37.949 it was pulling in 9 to 10 million daily viewers. 00:07:38.189 --> 00:07:40.449 Which is unheard of for daytime syndication. 00:07:40.769 --> 00:07:42.189 There were periods where she was actually beating 00:07:42.189 --> 00:07:44.509 the Oprah Winfrey show in the daytime ratings. 00:07:44.709 --> 00:07:48.709 Wow. From 2009 until the series finale in 2021, 00:07:49.589 --> 00:07:52.550 Judge Judy was the undisputed highest rated show 00:07:52.550 --> 00:07:56.569 in all of daytime television programming. But 00:07:56.569 --> 00:07:58.870 why? I mean, the legal system is usually dry, 00:07:59.110 --> 00:08:02.439 bureaucratic and boring. What was the psychological 00:08:02.439 --> 00:08:06.100 hook that made 10 million people tune in every 00:08:06.100 --> 00:08:08.639 single afternoon? If we connect this to the bigger 00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:11.339 picture, the author, Brendan the Corner, made 00:08:11.339 --> 00:08:13.199 a brilliant observation about this phenomenon. 00:08:13.500 --> 00:08:15.740 What did he say? He pointed out that court show 00:08:15.740 --> 00:08:18.259 viewers aren't tuning in for moral conundrums 00:08:18.259 --> 00:08:20.899 or technical legal wrinkles. They watch because 00:08:20.899 --> 00:08:23.519 the show offers a pure fantasy of how they wish 00:08:23.519 --> 00:08:25.699 the justice system actually operated. Oh, that 00:08:25.699 --> 00:08:28.100 makes total sense. It's swift. There are no procedural 00:08:28.100 --> 00:08:30.519 mishaps. There are no uppity lawyers dragging 00:08:30.519 --> 00:08:32.840 things out for billable hours. Viewers get to 00:08:32.840 --> 00:08:35.259 watch wrongdoers be publicly humiliated by a 00:08:35.259 --> 00:08:39.419 strong, unyielding... Exactly. And most importantly, 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:41.799 when she renders her verdict, there is absolute 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:44.039 certainty. There are no lengthy appeals. It is 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:47.440 final. That craving for absolute certainty is 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:50.750 deeply embedded in us. There was a statistics 00:08:50.750 --> 00:08:53.330 from a 2013 Reader's Digest poll that just blows 00:08:53.330 --> 00:08:56.470 my mind. The poll revealed that Americans trusted 00:08:56.470 --> 00:08:59.750 Judge Judy more than they trusted all nine justices 00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:01.370 of the United States Supreme Court combined. 00:09:01.649 --> 00:09:04.250 That is a staggering metric of cultural trust. 00:09:04.529 --> 00:09:06.950 It really makes you wonder why we as a society 00:09:06.950 --> 00:09:10.049 are so eager to put our faith in a TV judge over 00:09:10.049 --> 00:09:12.230 the highest court in the land. Think about that. 00:09:12.710 --> 00:09:14.950 Why does that certainty appeal to you so much? 00:09:15.820 --> 00:09:18.980 Maybe it's because in a world where real legal 00:09:18.980 --> 00:09:21.559 battles drag on for years and technicalities 00:09:21.559 --> 00:09:24.179 often obscure the truth, her courtroom offered 00:09:24.179 --> 00:09:27.000 a 30 -minute oasis of undeniable clarity. Right. 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:29.379 Someone was objectively right, someone was objectively 00:09:29.379 --> 00:09:31.639 wrong, and the bad guy got a severe talking to. 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:34.460 Exactly. It's a highly curated form of catharsis. 00:09:34.539 --> 00:09:37.519 It taps into a fundamental human desire for fairness 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:39.759 that the actual real -world legal system often 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:41.799 struggles to provide in a timely or satisfying 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:45.169 manner. The real world is full of gray areas. 00:09:45.470 --> 00:09:48.029 Judge Judy's courtroom only dealt in black and 00:09:48.029 --> 00:09:51.049 white. And dealing in black and white turned 00:09:51.049 --> 00:09:53.710 out to be incredibly lucrative. Here's where 00:09:53.710 --> 00:09:55.309 it gets really interesting, because we need to 00:09:55.309 --> 00:09:57.470 talk about the economics behind daytime television. 00:09:58.210 --> 00:10:01.750 Her craving for justice translated into an absolute 00:10:01.750 --> 00:10:04.730 financial empire. The numbers are staggering. 00:10:05.090 --> 00:10:08.190 By early 2005, her salary was reportedly $25 00:10:08.190 --> 00:10:13.460 million a year. It jumped to $45 million. And 00:10:13.460 --> 00:10:16.960 by 2011, CBS extended her contract with an annual 00:10:16.960 --> 00:10:20.460 salary of $47 million. A massive jump. Now, I 00:10:20.460 --> 00:10:22.340 understand that syndication where a show is sold 00:10:22.340 --> 00:10:24.419 market by market, station by station across the 00:10:24.419 --> 00:10:26.320 country, rather than just airing on one central 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:29.340 network, is incredibly profitable. But I was 00:10:29.340 --> 00:10:30.919 looking at the actual production schedule she 00:10:30.919 --> 00:10:33.340 maintained to earn that $47 million. How many 00:10:33.340 --> 00:10:35.159 days was she actually in the studio? This is 00:10:35.159 --> 00:10:37.399 the detail that always stuns people. She commuted 00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:39.740 to Los Angeles every other week for two to four 00:10:39.740 --> 00:10:42.509 days to tape. the episodes. Okay. In total, she 00:10:42.509 --> 00:10:46.049 worked just 52 days a year taping cases. 52 days. 00:10:46.210 --> 00:10:48.110 Doing the math on that, she was earning over 00:10:48.110 --> 00:10:51.870 $900 ,000 per workday. Nearly a million dollars 00:10:51.870 --> 00:10:54.470 every time she showed up to the set. It is almost 00:10:54.470 --> 00:10:58.409 unfathomable efficiency. But it certainly wasn't 00:10:58.409 --> 00:11:02.110 a leisurely 52 days. The sheer volume of cases 00:11:02.110 --> 00:11:04.450 they packed into those taping sessions required 00:11:04.450 --> 00:11:06.909 a relentless work ethic. Right. They were churning 00:11:06.909 --> 00:11:09.500 through them. There was actually a highly publicized 00:11:09.500 --> 00:11:12.379 moment in March 2011 where the physical toll 00:11:12.379 --> 00:11:15.200 became apparent. She fainted on the set of her 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:18.639 show while handling a case. She was rushed to 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:20.639 the hospital and was later revealed she had suffered 00:11:20.639 --> 00:11:24.059 a mini -stroke. But in true Judge Judy fashion, 00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:26.700 she was released the very next day and was right 00:11:26.700 --> 00:11:29.440 back to managing her empire. Her drive is formidable, 00:11:29.700 --> 00:11:32.200 but even the most profitable empires eventually 00:11:32.200 --> 00:11:36.159 face structural shifts. In 2021, she decided 00:11:36.159 --> 00:11:39.279 to bring Judge Judy to a close. She stated pragmatically 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:41.480 that 25 is a good round number to finish on. 00:11:41.620 --> 00:11:43.960 Yeah, but the decision was heavily influenced 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:46.500 by a very real business dispute, wasn't it? Yes, 00:11:46.519 --> 00:11:49.980 a major dispute with ViacomCBS over library rights. 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:52.139 All right, let's break down library rights, because 00:11:52.139 --> 00:11:54.039 this is where the television industry gets ruthless. 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:59.440 CBS owned the massive backlog of her old episodes, 00:11:59.720 --> 00:12:02.610 The Library. They realized they could just air 00:12:02.610 --> 00:12:04.929 reruns of Judge Judy and still pull in massive 00:12:04.929 --> 00:12:08.009 ratings. Which means keeping 100 % of the profit 00:12:08.009 --> 00:12:11.009 without having to pay her that $47 million annual 00:12:11.009 --> 00:12:14.059 salary for new episodes. Precisely. Once a network 00:12:14.059 --> 00:12:16.399 realizes the reruns are almost as valuable as 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:18.919 the new product, the talent loses their leverage. 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:21.460 So rather than accept a diminished role or pay 00:12:21.460 --> 00:12:23.860 cut, she walked away. But she definitely didn't 00:12:23.860 --> 00:12:26.600 retire. No, she immediately pivoted to the streaming 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:29.159 world, launching a spinoff series called Judy 00:12:29.159 --> 00:12:32.500 Justice, which premiered in November 2021 on 00:12:32.500 --> 00:12:35.940 Amazon Freebie. Which was a massive gamble. Streaming 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:38.019 platforms are usually built for binge -watching 00:12:38.019 --> 00:12:40.419 high -budget dramas, not daily syndicated court 00:12:40.419 --> 00:12:42.960 shows. She was essentially testing if her audience 00:12:42.960 --> 00:12:45.179 would follow her to an app. And it was the first 00:12:45.179 --> 00:12:47.659 standard court show to air first run episodes 00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:50.600 exclusively through streaming. Amazon wanted 00:12:50.600 --> 00:12:52.720 her because they needed a daily habit forming 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:55.600 show to draw viewers to their freebie platform. 00:12:55.860 --> 00:12:59.000 So to fit this new era, they evolved the format. 00:12:59.080 --> 00:13:01.700 They did. It was designed to be a more modern 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:04.700 hip rendition. She brought in her own granddaughter, 00:13:04.940 --> 00:13:07.820 Sarah Rose, as a law clerk to provide a Gen Z 00:13:07.820 --> 00:13:11.059 perspective. Nice touch. They added a live stenographer 00:13:11.059 --> 00:13:14.059 to read back testimony and settle discrepancies 00:13:14.059 --> 00:13:17.070 in real time. She swapped the traditional black 00:13:17.070 --> 00:13:19.509 robe for a striking burgundy one. A whole new 00:13:19.509 --> 00:13:23.149 look. Exactly. And crucially, because streaming 00:13:23.149 --> 00:13:25.950 isn't bound by the rigid commercial act breaks 00:13:25.950 --> 00:13:28.909 of syndicated daytime TV, the pacing changed. 00:13:29.210 --> 00:13:31.789 Instead of aggressively packing two frantic cases 00:13:31.789 --> 00:13:34.909 into a half hour, Judy Justice often focuses 00:13:34.909 --> 00:13:37.789 on a single longer case, allowing her to dig 00:13:37.789 --> 00:13:40.289 deeper into the actual legal arguments. But, 00:13:40.289 --> 00:13:41.929 you know, you can't have a massive transition 00:13:41.929 --> 00:13:44.289 like that without some collateral damage. Yeah. 00:13:44.389 --> 00:13:46.399 Which brings us. to the Bailiff Bird drama. Oh, 00:13:46.580 --> 00:13:49.019 right. The fans were not happy. They were furious. 00:13:49.220 --> 00:13:51.779 When the trailer for Judy Justice dropped, the 00:13:51.779 --> 00:13:54.500 massive Judge Judy fan base practically revolted 00:13:54.500 --> 00:13:57.299 because Petri Bird was nowhere to be seen. He 00:13:57.299 --> 00:13:59.580 was replaced by a new bailiff, Kevin Rasko. And 00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:02.480 Bird spoke out publicly about it? He did. And 00:14:02.480 --> 00:14:04.840 it was pretty heartbreaking. He said he was confused 00:14:04.840 --> 00:14:07.259 and dismayed by the lack of communication from 00:14:07.259 --> 00:14:09.740 her team, claiming he was ultimately omitted 00:14:09.740 --> 00:14:11.399 from the new series because they didn't want 00:14:11.399 --> 00:14:14.070 to pay his salary. It was a stark reminder of 00:14:14.070 --> 00:14:16.350 the harsh business realities that exist behind 00:14:16.350 --> 00:14:19.330 the illusion of a television family. Shineland 00:14:19.330 --> 00:14:22.070 responded publicly, praising Bird as a terrific 00:14:22.070 --> 00:14:24.549 professional, but she was blunt about the fact 00:14:24.549 --> 00:14:26.950 that the new show simply needed a new and exciting 00:14:26.950 --> 00:14:30.590 direction. It felt cold. But ultimately, Bird 00:14:30.590 --> 00:14:33.230 expressed that he held no grudges and wished 00:14:33.230 --> 00:14:36.039 her well. And it seems fences were eventually 00:14:36.039 --> 00:14:38.399 mended behind the scenes because it was later 00:14:38.399 --> 00:14:40.519 announced that Bird would appear in Tribunal 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:42.759 Justice. Which is an entirely different courtroom 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:45.299 series created and produced by Shineland's production 00:14:45.299 --> 00:14:47.840 company. Exactly. And her jumped to streaming 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:50.700 paid off critically as well. She won a daytime 00:14:50.700 --> 00:14:53.600 Emmy for Judy Justice, making her the only television 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:56.480 arbitrator to win that specific award for more 00:14:56.480 --> 00:14:58.980 than one court show. It's a triumphant third 00:14:58.980 --> 00:15:02.139 act of her career. But to really grasp the woman 00:15:02.139 --> 00:15:04.500 wielding the gavel, it helps to look at the personal 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:06.659 and political life that runs parallel to her 00:15:06.659 --> 00:15:10.279 very curated public persona. Her life off camera 00:15:10.279 --> 00:15:12.659 is just as dynamic. Let's pull back the curtain 00:15:12.659 --> 00:15:15.679 on that. She has a massive blended family. She 00:15:15.679 --> 00:15:18.159 married Ronald Levy in 1964. They had two children 00:15:18.159 --> 00:15:21.679 together and then divorced in 1976. And then 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:24.159 two years later, she married Judge Jerry Shineland. 00:15:24.279 --> 00:15:26.080 Yes. What's fascinating is that they actually 00:15:26.080 --> 00:15:28.500 divorced in 1990. It was partially due to the 00:15:28.500 --> 00:15:30.799 overwhelming grief and stress she was experiencing 00:15:30.799 --> 00:15:33.919 after the death of her beloved father. But they 00:15:33.919 --> 00:15:35.799 found their way back to each other and remarried 00:15:35.799 --> 00:15:38.299 just a year later in 1991. That's quite a journey. 00:15:38.519 --> 00:15:40.580 It is. Between the two of them, they share five 00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:43.120 children and stepchildren, 13 grandchildren and 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:46.960 two great -grandchildren. Her son Adam even followed 00:15:46.960 --> 00:15:49.299 in the family footsteps. He's a former district 00:15:49.299 --> 00:15:52.080 attorney and a co -star on that new show, Tribunal 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:55.220 Justice. And the staggering wealth she generated 00:15:55.220 --> 00:15:57.820 from television allowed her to build an incredibly 00:15:57.820 --> 00:16:00.759 impressive real estate portfolio to house that 00:16:00.759 --> 00:16:03.580 massive family. She owns homes everywhere. New 00:16:03.580 --> 00:16:07.500 York, Florida, California, Wyoming. But the... 00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:10.899 Crown Jewel seems to be the birdhouse estate 00:16:10.899 --> 00:16:14.299 in Newport, Rhode Island. Right. It's a 9 ,700 00:16:14.299 --> 00:16:17.139 square foot property sitting on over three acres 00:16:17.139 --> 00:16:19.820 that she and her husband purchased for $9 million. 00:16:20.759 --> 00:16:23.679 Amazing. Now, when it comes to her politics, 00:16:23.899 --> 00:16:26.519 we are just going to lay out her public stances 00:16:26.519 --> 00:16:28.840 neutrally because her positions are quite distinct. 00:16:29.320 --> 00:16:31.799 She strictly identifies as a registered independent. 00:16:32.139 --> 00:16:34.500 She has made it very clear she prefers not to 00:16:34.500 --> 00:16:37.080 be boxed in by political labels or party platforms. 00:16:37.320 --> 00:16:39.179 Right. If you look objectively at her actions, 00:16:39.259 --> 00:16:41.440 her politics really mirror her judicial philosophy. 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:44.139 It's all about case -by -case pragmatism. Give 00:16:44.139 --> 00:16:46.460 us an example. Well, she actively supported Michael 00:16:46.460 --> 00:16:48.779 Bloomberg for president in 2020, even writing 00:16:48.779 --> 00:16:50.940 an op -ed endorsing him before he had officially 00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:53.879 announced his campaign. And more recently, she 00:16:53.879 --> 00:16:56.679 endorsed Nikki Haley in the 2024 election cycle, 00:16:56.740 --> 00:16:59.159 joining her at a rally in New Hampshire. And 00:16:59.159 --> 00:17:01.879 on specific societal issues, her stances cross 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:05.039 traditional party lines. She is a supporter of 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:07.859 same -sex marriage. While she has stated publicly 00:17:07.859 --> 00:17:10.299 that she is not a fan of big government, she 00:17:10.299 --> 00:17:12.019 believes same -sex marriage should be recognized 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:14.599 at the federal level rather than left to a state 00:17:14.599 --> 00:17:16.640 -by -state patchwork. That makes sense with her 00:17:16.640 --> 00:17:18.900 worldview. She's also gone on record stating 00:17:18.900 --> 00:17:21.359 she is in favor of increasing the requirements 00:17:21.359 --> 00:17:24.799 for gun ownership. It's very specific. individualized 00:17:24.799 --> 00:17:26.920 set of beliefs. Which perfectly aligns with someone 00:17:26.920 --> 00:17:29.140 who has spent their entire adult life evaluating 00:17:29.140 --> 00:17:32.259 individual cases on their specific merits. She 00:17:32.259 --> 00:17:34.160 looks at the evidence, makes a decision, and 00:17:34.160 --> 00:17:36.660 moves forward. So what does this all mean? What 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:39.039 happens when the ultimate judge, the woman who 00:17:39.039 --> 00:17:41.460 built an empire yelling at people for their petty 00:17:41.460 --> 00:17:45.279 disputes, finds herself as a plaintiff or a defendant 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:48.079 in an actual court of law? Because it has happened. 00:17:48.259 --> 00:17:50.200 Oh yes. Judge Judy has been involved in some 00:17:50.200 --> 00:17:52.599 absolutely fascinating lawsuits of her own. The 00:17:52.599 --> 00:17:55.200 first one is the Douthit -China dispute. And 00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:57.500 I want you, the listener, to picture the most 00:17:57.500 --> 00:18:00.400 stereotypical, petty Judge Judy television episode 00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:03.079 and then realize she was basically living it. 00:18:03.200 --> 00:18:06.980 The details of this are wild. In 2013, Patrice 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:10.039 Jones, who was the estranged wife of Randy Douthit, 00:18:10.119 --> 00:18:12.619 the executive producer of both Judge Judy and 00:18:12.619 --> 00:18:15.880 later Judy Justice, filed a lawsuit against Scheindlin. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:18.619 OK. And what did she allege? Jones alleged that 00:18:18.619 --> 00:18:21.180 her husband and Scheinlen conspired to let Scheinlen 00:18:21.180 --> 00:18:24.079 secretly purchase Jones' fine Christoffely china 00:18:24.079 --> 00:18:27.099 and Marley cutlery during a messy divorce. Over 00:18:27.099 --> 00:18:29.940 plates and forks. Exactly. Scheinlen had paid 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:33.200 Douthit just over $50 ,000 for the items. But 00:18:33.200 --> 00:18:35.539 Jones turned around and sued Scheinlen for over 00:18:35.539 --> 00:18:39.859 $514 ,000, claiming she was unlawfully deprived 00:18:39.859 --> 00:18:42.119 of her valuables. We're talking about a half 00:18:42.119 --> 00:18:44.799 -million -dollar lawsuit over fine china involving 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:47.519 the executive producer's estranged wife. The 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:50.099 irony is just too rich. It is the exact type 00:18:50.099 --> 00:18:52.240 of convoluted domestic mess that she would absolutely 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:54.400 tear apart if it came before her bench. Oh, she 00:18:54.400 --> 00:18:56.119 would yell at them for wasting the court's time. 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:59.079 It ultimately settled out of court. Shineland 00:18:59.079 --> 00:19:00.980 returned the tableware to Douthit, and Jones 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:04.940 agreed to pay him $12 ,500 to get her china back. 00:19:05.289 --> 00:19:07.690 Just an absolute circus. But then there was a 00:19:07.690 --> 00:19:10.109 case where she went on the offensive, the John 00:19:10.109 --> 00:19:13.589 Heyman case in 2014. Yes. Shineland sued a personal 00:19:13.589 --> 00:19:16.750 injury lawyer based in Connecticut. She accused 00:19:16.750 --> 00:19:19.289 him and his law firm of using her television 00:19:19.289 --> 00:19:21.690 image without her consent in their advertisements, 00:19:22.089 --> 00:19:25.170 falsely suggesting to the public that Judge Judy 00:19:25.170 --> 00:19:28.390 endorsed his firm. Oh, you do not use her image 00:19:28.390 --> 00:19:31.309 without permission. Never. Her public statement 00:19:31.309 --> 00:19:33.869 on the matter was quintessential Judge Judy. 00:19:34.569 --> 00:19:37.009 She said, Mr. Heyman is a lawyer and should know 00:19:37.009 --> 00:19:39.809 better. The unauthorized use of my name is outrageous 00:19:39.809 --> 00:19:42.890 and requires legal action. And the way she resolved 00:19:42.890 --> 00:19:46.150 it is the ultimate power move. The case was settled 00:19:46.150 --> 00:19:48.779 out of court in her favor. But rather than just 00:19:48.779 --> 00:19:51.200 pocketing the settlement money, she mandated 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:53.400 that Heyman donate it directly to her charity. 00:19:53.559 --> 00:19:56.140 The Her Honor Mentoring Program. Yes, which she 00:19:56.140 --> 00:19:58.039 runs with her stepdaughter to empower young women. 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:00.299 Think about that. You use my face illegally, 00:20:00.640 --> 00:20:03.220 I sue you, I win, and I force you to fund my 00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:05.720 charity. It perfectly encapsulates her entire 00:20:05.720 --> 00:20:08.180 brand. It really does. To tie this all together. 00:20:08.779 --> 00:20:10.859 We've traced the path of a woman who started 00:20:10.859 --> 00:20:13.680 as a frustrated corporate lawyer, waded into 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:16.519 the grueling trenches of the 1970s New York family 00:20:16.519 --> 00:20:19.220 court system, and leveraged that hard -earned 00:20:19.220 --> 00:20:21.200 authenticity into becoming the highest -paid 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:24.240 star on daytime television. She built a multi 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:26.259 -million dollar streaming and television empire 00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:29.220 simply by calling it exactly as she sees it. 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:31.460 This raises an important question. We've spent 00:20:31.460 --> 00:20:33.099 this deep dive looking at a woman who became 00:20:33.099 --> 00:20:35.680 a billionaire by dispensing swift, unquestionable 00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:38.019 justice in 30 minute television blocks. Yeah. 00:20:38.240 --> 00:20:40.740 But we live in an era where the real world legal 00:20:40.740 --> 00:20:43.619 system is painfully slow, incredibly complex 00:20:43.619 --> 00:20:46.519 and completely saturated in nuanced gray areas. 00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:49.299 Does our societal obsession with TV justice, 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:51.880 where every problem has a clear villain, an innocent 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:53.859 victim and a satisfying immediate resolution, 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:56.819 reflect a fundamental desire for simple right 00:20:56.819 --> 00:20:58.799 and wrong answers in a world that is in reality? 00:20:58.920 --> 00:21:03.359 That is a phenomenal question to leave on. Are 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:05.220 we watching because we want to see the law at 00:21:05.220 --> 00:21:07.599 work? Or are we watching because we desperately 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:09.660 need the world to make sense for just half an 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:12.180 hour a day? Thank you for joining us on this 00:21:12.180 --> 00:21:14.619 deep dive. Keep asking the big questions and 00:21:14.619 --> 00:21:16.880 keep seeking clarity in a complicated world.