The People's Court

Peoples Court - Judge Marilyn Milian These days, daytime television is filled to the brim with sassy judges who have become celebrities in their own right, but People's Court is where it all began. In 1981, with the no-nonsense Judge Wapner presiding and Doug Llewelyn acting as "court reporter," the Los Angeles-based People's Court started televising small claims cases as a form of entertainment. People from the show would go through the public court records and dig up some of the more intriguing cases that had been filed, then call up the plaintiffs and defendants and ask if they would be willing to have their dispute settled in the "People's Court".

What most viewers don't realize is that Peoples Court it is not a judicial court at all. When they go on the show, the litigants are consenting to what is known as "binding arbitration," with the judge acting as the arbiter over the case. The "court room" in Peoples Court, where the action takes place, is just a set to add to the drama. The litigants are also paid an appearance fee of $200.

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Peoples Court TV Scenes The original People's Court had a good run from 1981 until 1993, but was then canceled when ratings dropped to an all time low. The show was revamped and resurrected in 1997 and moved to New York City with former NYC mayor Ed Koch presiding. A couple years later, Jerry Sheindlin (husband of the infamous Judge Judy) took the bench, and then in 2001, Marilyn Milian took over. Judge Milian's 'supporting cast' includes court reporter Curt Chaplin, bailiff Douglas MacIntosh, and legal expert Harvey Levin.
Many people do not realize that the "outside" shots of Harvey Levin are shot at a different time to the show, but the magic of TV editing brings it all back together.

Although some litigants are gleaned from the People's court website, most of the litigants on the show are discovered through the seemingly tedious task of reading through all the local small claims cases (BTW its all public record and open to anyone to read) in the New York boroughs and contacting each of the relevant parties to see if they would like to appear on the show instead. Obviously the most "juicy" cases are the ones that make the best TV, so its those cases that will be picked up - Having said that, the Peoples Court researchers often have a hard time finding a "Juicy" case where both parties want to air their dirty laundry on TV - even if they are receiving a minimal payment for it.

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