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Judge Judy Tells the Supreme Court How Things Should Be Done

By Casey C. Sullivan, Esq. on May 10, 2016 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Judge Judy took to "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" last Thursday to discuss her role as one of America's most famous jurists. (Remember, "Judge Judy" is not a real court, but the cases are real and the proceedings are technically binding arbitration.)

It was a fun, fast-paced interview and, true to form, Judge Judy had plenty to say, including some advice for the Supreme Court. Let's take a look..

The Judge Weighs In -- On Everything

Judge Judy, who served for 15 years as an actual judge before heading to T.V., covered plenty of topics in her few minutes with Colbert. That included memory tips ("if you tell the truth you don't have to have a good memory"), first aid tips (peeing on jellyfish stings actually works), and politics ("I'm too old" to be Trump's VP, which would be "actually terrible.")

The Supreme Court Could Be a TV Court, Too

Colbert also asked the judge to weigh in on cameras in the Supreme Court. While many federal and state courts are making moves to make themselves more accessible to the public, from live streaming oral arguments, to putting together user-friendly websites, the Supreme Court has been notoriously slow to open its doors.

The Court has been recording oral arguments since 1955, for example, but it wasn't until 2010 that they got around to sharing those recordings online. And the Court has repeatedly refused calls to videotape its proceedings, saying that they would compromise judicial independence and lead to parties performing for the cameras, rather than the Court.

Judge Judy disagrees, as she explained to Colbert:

The American public pays a whole lot of money for a justice system, and I don't see any reason why they shouldn't get to see every way that it functions. And if it doesn't function well then you have to change it.

And Judy should know. Not only is she an expert on filmed legal proceedings, 10 percent of college graduates think she's actually on the Supreme Court, according to a poll taken in 2015. Meanwhile, only three percent of the public can correctly identify Justice Stephen Breyer. Cameras in the Court might help that.

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