10 Aug Is Casey Anthony’s Judge the Next Judge Judy?

It was revealed this week that the Orlando judge that oversaw the Casey Anthony murder case (she was acquitted of killing her daughter if you recall but was convicted of lying to the cops) may get a TV show. Ninth Judicial Circuit Judge Belvin Perry has been on the bench since 1989. He graduated law school back in 1971. A big talent agency is marketing the Judge Judy type show, according to MSN.com.  Not sure Judge Belvin rolls off the tongue quite the same as JJ.

There are some benefits to the judge TV shows, led longevity wise by Divorce Court (still running after 33 years) and The People’s Court (28 years). The idea is the parties to real cases, usually from small claims, agree to binding arbitration decided by the TV judge. These shows’ ratings go up and down but in the last 10-15 years have been very strong. They show how judges weigh evidence, assess credibility and deal with attitude. They hopefully teach that while our justice system is not perfect, lots of well-intentioned folks are doing their best to reach the right result.

But of course TV in real courtrooms, as well as TV court reality shows, run the risk of being too much about the media attention. One wonders whether a judge really comports him or herself the same in their day-to-day courtroom vs. when a high profile case comes along. Or when there’s even TV at all. The public has the right to witness these proceedings and I don’t object to TV in court. But judges are human, and we need to accept the fact that they may play at least a little for the camera and trade that for the openness we need in our judicial system.