The People's Court

"What you are about to witness is real. The participants are not actors. They are the actual people who have already either filed suit or been served a summons to appear in a California (or New York Metropolitan) Municipal Court. Both parties in the suit have agreed to dismiss their court cases and have their disputes settled here, in our forum — The People's Court." [Current version: "...They are actual litigants with a case pending in civil court. Both parties have agreed to drop their claims, and have their cases settled here..."]

The Ur Example of the judge talk show, The People's Court had its pilot episode taped in October of 1980 and premiered on September 14, 1981 when Judge Joseph Wapner took the court to the TV. The premise is that two parties, a plaintiff and a defendant, that would otherwise take their cases to small claims court would instead agree to have their case settled on television by Judge Wapner. After the verdict was given, each side would be interviewed by host and court reporter Doug Llewelyn, who would often end the show with the Catch Phrase "If you're in a dispute with another party and you can't seem to work things out, don't take the law into your own hands; you take 'em to court." The show's other two regulars were bailiff Rusty Burrell and announcer Jack Harrell. The show was created by John Masterson, who previously created and produced Queen for a Day. It was executive produced by Ralph Edwards, who previously created and/or produced The Cross Wits, Truth or Consequences, and Name That Tune, and his production partner, Stu Billett. Both men packaged the show under their own separate companies until 1987, when the companies merged. The show was originally distributed by Telepictures until 1986, when that company merged with Lorimar, creating Lorimar-Telepictures. Lorimar-Telepictures continued to distribute until 1989, when it was purchased by Warner Bros, who continued to distribute until the show's cancellation in 1993.

After Judge Judy started the judge show revival in the mid-1990s (with Doug Llewelyn working on it early on as a producer), one of the first shows on the block was a Revival of The People's Court. Former New York City mayor Ed Koch initially took the bench for the first two years, then was replaced by Jerry Sheindlin (husband of Judge Judy). He was replaced by Marilyn Milian, a former prosecutor and Florida Circuit Court judge, in 2001, who would preside over the court for the remainder of the series run (making her the series' longest-presiding judge, and the first Hispanic judge on a television courtroom reality show). The bailiff during the Koch-Sheindlin years was Josephine Ann Longobardi. After Milian took the bench, Longobardi was replaced by Davy Jones, who only lasted relatively briefly and was in turn replaced by Douglas MacIntosh. Curt Chaplin took over the interview duties and became the new announcer, while host Harvey Levin (of TMZ infamy), who worked on the Wapner version as the show's legal consultant, explains the legalese behind the judges' decisions while polling fans gathered outdoors. Doug Llewelyn returned to the series in 2016 to replace Chaplin as court reporter/interviewer, while Chaplin retained his announcer duties; Llewelyn had also served as a supervising producer on Judge Judy during its early stages.

In February 2023, it was announced that The People's Court would come to an end at the conclusion of its 39th season, making it the second-longest-running (behind only Divorce Court) courtroom series of all time. Under Judge Milian, it was also a four-time Daytime Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program, winning more times than any other show, including Judge Judy. Judge Milian has moved on to a new series, Justice for the People with Judge Milian, to be produced by Allen Media Group, while The People's Court will live on in reruns.

The original is best known nowadays for being the favorite program of Raymond Babbit.

Tropes used in The People's Court include:

• Berserk Button: Judge Milian may seem nicer than other TV judges, but if you get on her bad side, hell hath no fury like hers. There's no quicker way to get on her bad side than to commit perjury - she considers anyone who lies to her under oath to be underestimating her intelligence. As demonstrated under The Reason You Suck Speech below, she will also eviscerate anyone who dares disrespect her or her court.
• Can't Get Away With Nuthin': Like Judge Judy, Judge Milian has had her own case involving an eBay scammer. This one had a twist, as the defendant was only 16. As she ruled in the plaintiff's favor, Judge Milian advised the kid she was sending a tape of the case to law enforcement and added, "If I were you, I'd be waiting for the knock on the door, pal, because you are going to get it." The boy's mother - who interestingly had been sitting in the audience, not as a witness for her son - fled the courtroom in tears without stopping to talk to the court reporter.
• Cast the Expert: Like other TV judges, Judge Milian is acting as a binding arbiter rather than as a judge, but she was a real judge, serving in the Miami Circuit Court for two years before joining The People's Court, and for ten years before that was assistant state attorney for Dade County. So she knows her stuff. Also, unlike Judge Judy, she recognizes the laws of the states, counties, etc. from which her litigants hail and takes them into consideration when rendering a verdict. For example: although her jurisdictional limit on the show is $5,000, some states set their maximums for small-claims court as low as $3,000, and Judge Milian will recognize this.
• Catch Phrase: Like Judge Judy, Marilyn Milian has her own set of catch phrases:
  • "Did I breathe and give you the impression I was done speaking?"
  • "You redefine chutzpah!"
  • "As my grandmother used to say, Un clavo saca el otro clavo - One nail drives out the other." (And various other "dichos," or short sayings/proverbs in Spanish. The judge is very proud of her Cuban-American heritage.)
  • "Who am I gonna believe, you or my lying eyes?"
  • "I wouldn't believe you if your tongue came notarized."
  • "NOT here! NOT today! And NOT in my courtroom!"
• Early Installment Weirdness: In addition to the judge-bailiff turnover, Levin originally had a co-host, Carol Martin, who previously was an anchor at New York City TV station WCBS.
• Gratuitous Spanish: The daughter of Cuban immigrants, Judge Marilyn Milian was the first courtroom series judge of Hispanic descent. English is in fact her second language, and she's fond of passing along dichos (proverbs) she learned from her parents and grandparents, such as: "Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo" ("The Devil knows more from being old than from being the Devil") and "Toma chocolate, paga lo que debes" ("If you order hot chocolate, pay for it" - essentially her version of Judge Judy's "You ate the steak").
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: The Wapner version has not been seen since the late 2000's, when it was reran on In2TV, an internet television service jointly owned by America Online and Warner Bros.
• Rant-Inducing Slight: Judge Milian's verbal beatdown of a snotty law student below.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: So many instances with Judge Milian, all a Moment of Awesome for her. Judge Milian is actually pretty even-tempered compared with Judge Judy, but when something triggers her Berserk Button, watch out!
  • October 15, 2007: A University of Miami law student says her ruling is "your opinion". Milian goes postal.

Judge Milian: No, that's my RULING, pal. And let me tell you something, Mr. University of Miami Law School! I taught at U-M for many years, and you, right now, are embarrassing us. You do not show that kind of disrespect, okay? If you don't like what the judge is doing, you take it to the next forum, but you do NOT stand there and say "That's your opinion" like a BABY, when a judge rules against — DON'T EVEN UTTER ANOTHER WORD!! — ... You've got a lot to learn about what it means to be a member of the Florida Bar, and if you think that this kind of petulance and babyness on your part, to tell around and tell a judge who you disagree with "WELL, THAT'S YOUR OPINION!" is going to get you anywhere, you are sorely mistaken. If there's nothing you should have learned in the last two years as a law student, that's something you should have learned as a human growing up, that you do not show that kind of disrespect. You don't like it, take it to the hallway, but you do not look a judge in the face — because, I don't care what you think of me, you've gotta RESPECT THIS PROCESS! And if there's anybody who I expect to respect this process, it's a second-year law student at the University of Miami. Verdict for the plaintiff, $450 and court costs.