Seattle's Judge Judy Suspended over Courtroom Insults

[mike r]

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2011494,00.html

A Real-Life Judge Judy Gets Smacked Down
By Adam Cohen

When a defendant showed up on a traffic charge, Judge Judy delivered a zinger: "If you drive like an idiot 'cause you're late for work, you're gonna have to pay for it." Then she piled on: "You can see your picture on the headlines of the Seattle Times, stupid young man who shouldn't be driving." Another defendant recalled that the tart-tongue jurist humiliated and bullied her until she broke down in tears. "She frequently interrupted answers with insults," the woman recalled.

This bullying Judge Judy was not Judge Judith Sheindlin, the tough-talking former New York City Family Court judge who has the top-rated judge show on syndicated television. It was Judge Judith Raub Eiler, her real-life doppelgänger, who sits at a county court in Seattle. Instead of high ratings and rich syndication fees, this Judge Judy's aggressive demeanor earned her a five-day suspension without pay courtesy of the Washington State Supreme Court.

Judge Eiler first ran into trouble in 2004. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct brought her up on disciplinary charges for her insulting and demeaning judicial style. It pointed to multiple instances showing that she had engaged in "a pattern or practice of rude, impatient and undignified treatment" of the people who appeared before her. Judge Eiler admitted to her misdeeds. She was required to participate in behavioral therapy and to refrain from similar conduct in the future. She completed the therapy, but soon she went back to her old ways. In 2008, the commission accused her of the same kind of abuse. Judge Eiler defended herself by saying she was just a "tough, no-nonsense judge" and that the case against her was overblown. She also made the bizarre claim that the court was trying to infringe on her freedom of speech...

It is hard to believe TV's Judge Judy was not a strong influence on Seattle's Judge Judy. TV's Judge Judy yells at litigants and belittles them, and her specialty is finding innovative new ways of calling people stupid. The woman who wrote a best seller called Beauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever makes no apologies for her courtroom tongue-lashings. "If I call someone an idiot," she told the Daily Beast, "they're an idiot." The two Judge Judys have another thing in common: the targets of their wrath seem to be the most powerless members of society. TV's Judge Judy does not usually go after greedy Wall Street titans or corrupt elected officials. The person she is yelling at is almost always one of life's losers — poor, not very well educated and perhaps not altogether there. Similarly, Judge Eiler's victims were mainly pro se litigants — people who go to court without a lawyer. Not understanding the law, they are often confused about how things work and, as a result, vulnerable — perfect targets for a bully...

[bluestateguy]

1. Judge Judy's show is not a real courtroom

So what she does is acceptable for TV. Not so with this other lady.

I rather like Judge Judy's approach: she expects people to act like responsible adults and not make excuses.

[LostinVA]

2. People CHOOSE to go on Judge Judy

They get paid for appearing and their case is dismissed in regular court.They want to be on TV.

I almost always agree with Judge Judy, and she's right: if she calls someone an idiot, or a liar, they are an idiot, or a liar.

[Common Sense Party]

3. "Judge Judy does not usually go after greedy Wall Street titans or corrupt elected officials"

Because it's small claims court. What a stupid line of reasoning.

[LostinVA]

4. And, she was a Family law judge IRL

In either the Bronx or Queens. I forget which one.

She gives alot of money to charity, loves her pets, gets along with her kids and grandkids, and has come out publicly for marriage equality. I like Judge Judy.

[hughee99]

5. Amen! Sure, BP is going to have it's lawsuits handled in 30 minutes

on Judge Judy instead of going to a real court with actual lawyers.

[slampoet]

6. Neither do American courts.