The People's Court (TV series)
"The People's Court" is a television series that premiered on September 12, 1981, featuring Judge Joseph A. Wapner as he presided over real small-claims court cases. The show showcased actual disputes, with litigants agreeing to arbitration instead of pursuing their lawsuits in a traditional court setting. Initially, claims were limited to $1,500, but this cap increased to $5,000 by the end of its original run in 1993 due to changes in California's small-claims law. Each episode typically featured two cases, allowing both plaintiffs and defendants to present their arguments to Judge Wapner, who would then deliver a binding verdict after a brief deliberation.
The series gained immense popularity, effectively merging the talk show format with courtroom drama and paving the way for a new subgenre of television that focused on real-life legal conflicts. The show was notable for its focus on the litigants' stories rather than the legal professionals, and it also introduced audience participation through polls on case outcomes. After its initial run, "The People's Court" was revived in 1997 with a new hour-long format, featuring former New York City Mayor Ed Koch as the presiding judge. The show's enduring appeal reflects the public's fascination with legal issues and personal narratives.
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The People's Court (TV series)
Identification American television program
Date Original run aired from 1981 to 1993
The People’s Court was the first popular court show featuring actual litigants in small-claims court.
The People’s Court premiered on September 12, 1981, featuring Judge Joseph A. Wapner as he presided over an actual small-claims civil court case. The show was syndicated to air daily on television stations across the country. The program’s researchers culled interesting cases from actual filings in California’s small-claims court. The litigants agreed, prior to appearing on the show, to drop their lawsuits and abide by the program’s binding arbitration in exchange for their appearance. Their lawsuits were originally limited to $1,500, as this was then the limit of small-claims decisions in California. However, as the state raised small-claims maximums, so did the show. By the time its initial run ended in 1993, litigants could claim up to $5,000 in damages. Both parties were paid to appear on the program, and when Wapner voted a monetary verdict, the losing party forfeited that amount of the payment.
Claimants were shown into the courtroom, and plaintiffs and defendants had a chance to present their cases to the judge. After hearing both sides, Wapner retired to chambers to consider his decision. He could support the plaintiff, defendant, or, as he sometimes chose, neither party. Litigants filed suits and countersuits, so that sometimes each party was both defendant and plaintiff.
Judge Wapner was joined by a regular crew, including bailiff Rusty Burrell and court reporter Doug Llewelyn. Llewelyn also hosted the show, introducing the cases and providing the wrap-up at the end. Each case generally took about fifteen minutes, or half of the allotted program time. Rare cases took the entire thirty minutes. If there was time at the end, Wapner might address legal questions from the audience, or legal consultant Harvey Levin might offer advice on some legal quagmire.
Impact
Melding talk shows with courtroom dramas, The People’s Court enjoyed such popularity that it spawned a television subgenre, as the American public’s appetite for real-life legal drama proved to be great enough to sustain several shows. Unlike its fictional counterparts, The People’s Court did not focus on the judges or the lawyers, but instead concentrated on cases and the people presenting them. It was also one of the first programs to institute audience polls. In some controversial cases, Llewelyn would tell viewers how the studio audience would have decided the case after Wapner had rendered his verdict. Llewelyn ended each case by reminding viewers “Don’t take the law into your own hands: You take ’em to court,” and viewers tuned in weekly for more than a decade to see who was suing whom.
Subsequent Events
Four years after the show’s original run ended, it was revived in an hourlong format starting in 1997. The first judge to preside in the new show was former mayor of New York City Ed Koch.
Bibliography
Cohn, Marjorie, and David Dow. Cameras in the Courtroom: Television and the Pursuit of Justice. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1998.
Kammen, Michael. American Culture, American Tastes: Social Change and the Twentieth Century. New York: Basic Books, 2000.
Meyer, Jon’a, and Paul Jesilow. “Doing Justice” in the People’s Court: Sentencing by Municipal Court Judges. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997.