Local News

Actions

Judge Judy Part 3

Posted at 12:30 AM, Nov 20, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-20 03:30:13-05
Judge Judy isn't known for holding back, and now she has a message for America's youth: get up and learn something.
 
 Action news anchor Jacqui Heinrich traveled to Judy's Hollywood studios for her take on some of society's biggest problems.
 
"Are we becoming a country that panders to mediocrity? We are," Judge Judy said.
 
Judge Judy Sheindlin's presided over tens of thousands of cases in her 30-plus years on the bench, and in that time, she's had a lot of questionable characters come her way. 
 
"Whether you like her or you don't like her or you hate liking her, you're tuning in because you know the integrity is there," said Bailiff Petri Hawkins Byrd.
 
Every time someone tries a shady move in her courtroom, she throws the book at them.
 
"She's winking at the audience at the same time she's letting a litigant have it. They identify with her," said Judy's executive producer Randy Douthit. 
 
But Judy says while lies and half-truths never surprise her, what does is apathy. She says it's a growing concern for America's youth. 
 
"I just watched something, my husband called me in and said watch this, it was cute. Somebody had sent it to us and it was on a college campus. Eight kids were interviewed, and the same eight kids were asked the following questions. The first one was 'who won the civil war?'. Not one of the eight knew the answer!" she said.
 
More shocking to Judy than the wrong answers were the right ones.
 
"Another question was 'On what program did Snookie star?' And all eight of them knew it was Jersey Shore! But the question about who is vice president of this country, nobody knew."
 
While she's encouraged by responses to her recent Facebook campaign asking what biggest lesson the show has taught viewers, she says that's not enough. If there's one mark she hopes her legacy will leave, it is this:
 
"Those people who don't get out and vote and don't make themselves aware of what's going on around them... in the famous words of Ed Koch, you get what you deserve, which very often is mediocre," Judy said.