Judith Sheindlin

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Judge Judith Sheindlin

Judith Sheindlin (born Judith Blum on October 21, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American family court judge, who after retiring in 1996 became famous by hosting her own syndicated court show, Judge Judy.

Sheindlin attended American University in Washington, DC graduating in 1963 and then went on to New York Law School, receiving her law degree in 1965, and practiced family law for many years in New York, before being appointed to the bench. Judge Judith Sheindlin's career in family court began in 1972 prosecuting juvenile delinquency cases for the state of New York. In 1982 she was appointed to the bench as a Family Court Judge by Edward Koch,mayor of New York and was promoted to the rank of Supervising Judge for Manhattan in 1986.

Even before she gained her TV show, her outspoken reputation made Sheindlin the subject of a Los Angeles Times article in February 1993. The piece caught the attention of "60 Minutes," leading to a segment on the popular newsmagazine show, which brought her national recognition. This led to her first book, published in 1996 by Harper Collins which was entitled "Don't Pee On My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining. Her second book, "Beauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever," was published in January 1999. A national bestseller, the book looks at women's issues, "the need to have self-esteem, independence, self-reliance and most importantly, a sense of humor". Two further books were published in 2000, "Win or Lose By How You Choose"- an illustrated children's book which contains "clever questions that encourages parents to discuss the answers and evaluate the consequences of each course of action", and "Keep It Simple, Stupid" containing "her no-nonsense opinions on solving everyday family squabbles."

Her TV show became a reality in September, 1996. Judy herself says that she saw it as a way to reach out to everyday people and share her opinions on life with a broader audience. The popularity of Judge Judy has become part of America's pop-culture. She has appeared on "Saturday Night Live." She's been mentioned on network TV shows such as Will & Grace and on the Academy Awards. She was selected to serve as a judge for the 1999 Miss America Pageant.

Judy Sheindlin has been married a total of three times, twice to Jerry Sheindlin, her current husband, who is also a judge (appointed by Ed Koch to Manhattan's Criminal Court in 1983, and later a Justice of the Supreme Court of New York) and who also appeared on a TV show, The People's Court from 1998 until 2001, when Judge Marilyn Milian replaced him. Judith and Jerry married in 1977, were divorced in 1990 and remarried in 1991. For both, it was a second marriage, and between them they have five childrren, and ten grandchildren. They performed the marriage ceremonies for all four of their married children themselves. Although production of her TV show takes place in Los Angeles, Judy lives in New York. In addition to her academic degrees, she holds an honorary Doctor of Law degree from Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.

She and her first husband, Ronald Levy, were married in 1964 and divorced in 1976.

Most of the information and all of the quotes on this page has been taken from Profiles of Justice: Judge Judy (http://www.judgejudy.com/Bios/allaboutjudy.asp), the website run by Paramount Pictures. According to their website, she has heard over 20,000 cases. Her style is described as encouraging people to "take responsibility for...[themselves, their] ...actions and the children... [they've] brought into the world.' "Americans have the right to know how their interests are being represented," says Judy herself, and the site also credits her with pioneering an open court policy, which was not common at the time. The implication is that her TV show is a continuation of this; many [critics (http://www.usfca.edu/pj/realjudge_banks.htm)] would counter that while reality coutroom shows may raise the level of interest in the legal system, they encourage a distorted view of both the system and its participants.

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