Wildest Judge Judy moments

After 21 years on the bench, "Judge Judy" is going stronger than ever, as the show is scheduled to run into the 2020s. The star of the show, Judy Sheindlin, turns 75 this year, and is as irascible as ever. To celebrate her Diamond Jubilee, we look back at some of the wilder moments from the bench.

In a 2010 episode, Ginny Paradeza, a high school student, sues two classmates over a stolen wallet. Before the pair attempt to explain their side of the story, one of them makes an incriminating statement, getting a rare laugh from the usually taciturn judge as she finds for the plaintiff...in only 26 seconds.

Being on TV can naturally be a nervous experience for some, but for one 21-year-old defendant being sued for damages to a car, the thought occurred that coming to Judy's court stoned would be a fun thing to do. It wasn't. In this 2015 episode, the stoned guy's laughter while being questioned managed to cost him $642, seriously putting a dent in his bud budget.

With a TV career as long as Judge Judy's, you're bound to develop a fanbase with a few celebrities in their own right. For Judy, one of those celebs happens to be University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was front and center in a 2013 episode along side his father Jack, as the pair watched Judy pass her usual brand of judgment. Harbaugh would later go on record to suggest to President Obama that Judge Judy deserved a seat on the Supreme Court.

Judge Judy is known for her usually funny sarcastic quips, but in a 2014, a member of the audience caught some justice of his own, as Judy kicks him out of the courtroom for laughing a little too loudly at one of her jokes. The audience member, who looked like an extra from "The Pirates of Penzance" looked like a deer in headlights as Judy singles him out for removal. He tries to throw himself on the mercy of the court, but Judy wasn't having it, loudly whispering "perfect" to a nervously silent courtroom.

"Judge Judy" had been on the air only a year when the show would intersect with punk rock royalty as John Lydon, better known as Johnny Rotten, former lead singer of the Sex Pistols, found himself on the business end of Judy justice as he appeared as a defendant, being sued by his former drummer for a number of grievances. Lydon clearly took the appearance more seriously than his early music career as he managed to satisfy Judy with his defense enough that she would rule in his favor, giving viewers that perfect moment when anarchy and order came together.

In 2010, a group of friends decided it would be a good idea to get on "Judge Judy" in order to make a few extra bucks. So they cooked up a story about damaged property and a dead cat, good enough for the producers to fly the plaintiff and defendant quartet in to have their case heard before Judy, in what was a memorable case. The end verdict was only the beginning, as the foursome took the judgment money (all judgments are paid by the production, including appearance fees), rented a convertible and drank champagne the entire day, all on Judy's dime.

During a 2015 episode, a 21-year-old who claimed to have fathered 10 children from different women walked into Judy's court and thought he could mouth off to the judge, saying at one point that even though he wasn't sure about how many mothers there were, Judy's daughter might be one of them. Of course, Judy proceeded to light him up over the joke she didn't find funny. 

A 2011 episode featuring a pair of dueling dental assistants may be the most surprising "Judge Judy" case to date. After judging in favor of the defendant, Angel McDaniel, new evidence came to light, at which point Judy reverses herself and awards plaintiff, Kenyatta Owens, $5,000 in damages. Why? Because McDaniel blatantly lied to the court about her injury and was only there to collect as much money as she could from the whole incident. Confusing? Maybe, but it ended up being one of Judy's most compelling cases.

During a 2008 taping of "Judge Judy" an earthquake hit Southern California, but never fear, Judy restored order right away, barely even acknowledging the quake happened. The case during the taping dealt with a woman suing her ex-boyfriend after he robbed her bank account in order to buy drugs. Once everything settled down, the sort of clown show you'd expect took place, and Judy never missed a beat.

In a 2012 episode of "Judge Judy," Judy heard a dispute between a man and a woman whose missing puppy was sold for $50 on the street. Naturally the woman believed that because the dog was legally hers, not the man’s, this was gross misconduct (not to mention incredibly cruel). Instead of deciding the case for herself, Judge Judy allowed the dog to make the decision for her. 

This 2007 case featured a pair of women from the Bronx who, let's just say, had their differences. The plaintiff was in a 13-year relationship with a man who would leave her for the the defendant. The hatred the two had for each other came to a head one morning as they dropped off their kids off at school. The confrontation led to an altercation which led to the defendant biting off the plaintiff's pinky finger, spitting it out on the ground and laughing in the plaintiff's face. Judy gives both women one of her classic lectures, saying that their problem is mostly coming from the man they once shared.

In this 2007 episode, a woman is suing her sister and ex neighbor for damages made to her car. What happens after is all-time memorable. The defendant borrowed the plaintiff's car, managing to hit and kill a deer, but that was not enough as she took the deer home, and ate it. Of course, the defendant tried to make amends for the damaged car by offering some of the meat to the plaintiff and was very offended when the plaintiff declined. Naturally things only went downhill from there...

Jim Harbaugh wasn't the only celebrity with an affinity for "Judge Judy" as a 2017 episode of the show has what some might consider a bigger star in the form of Amy Schumer. As Judy tried the case of some stolen credit cards, the camera was fixated on Schumer's disapproving stares, as it was clear to her the guy was guilty as sin.

A 2012 episode featured a young girl who only got to see her father just three times in a year. During a visit, they decided to take the snowmobile out for a spin. She crashed the snowmobile, and she got sued by her father and stepmom for the damage. The girl countersued for damaging her knee. The stepmother took the helmet she wore to court saying she didn’t hit her head. Judge Judy clearly saw that the father was influenced by the stepmother and dismissed the case.

In this case from 2011 a mother gave her son a $1,500 loan for a car, and when he refused to pay up, she took him to see Judy. The only defense the son could muster was that mom was responsible for the loss of his car because she didn't pay to get it out of tow. By his logic, he didn't feel the need to pay the first loan since she wouldn't give him a second. Take a guess which way Judy ruled.

On this 2010 episode of "Judge Judy," out of the goodness of her heart, a woman took in her brother to stay with her and her family. Bro decided to repay Sis' hospitality by racking up a $2,613 phone bill...for phone sex. Naturally, little brother denied everything, but sister had the phone records, leaving Judge Judy no choice but to rule in her favor.

Talk about a modern-day wicked stepmother. In this 2009 episode, Alexandra Nelson sued her stepmom because she refused to give her the car she received as her graduation present. Alexandra and stepmom never got along, so she moved out as soon as she was able, but when she got the car from her grandmother as part of an installment loan, her stepmom decided to keep the car until she could pay for it in full. Although Alexandra did pay off the car, the stepmom refused to fork over the keys, but Judy was having none of that, ruling against the evil stepmom, who surprisingly didn't disappear in a puff of smoke.

This 2015 episode featured yet another family dispute, although this time, it was blown way out of proportion as 57-year-old coffee house owner, Cathy, sued her 37-year-old nephew, Michael, because he thought it would be a good idea to retaliate against his aunt for not giving him a $3 raise by running up $2,658.72 on the company’s credit card. In Mike's mind, his embezzlement was justified, since his aunt passed him over in favor of another employee who wasn't family. He even countersued, because he would've been able to pay off the card if he had the raise. Of course Judy wasted no time ruling against him.

Sometimes, the cases brought before Judge Judy are so awful, she won't rule in favor of anyone. Case in point, during a 2015 episode, a pair of starcrossed lovers sued each other over damages which included car keying, slashed tires, breaking and entering, broken windows, and of course, broken hearts. The girlfriend also included in the suit the cost of an abortion for a child that wasn't his. Judy got fed up pretty quickly as she judged them both to be liars, and kicked them both out of the courtroom with no judgment for either of them.

Some people are just fools for love, and on a 2014 episode, a middle-aged man had a song of melancholy to sing to Judy about more than $8,000 in loans he gave to his young, now estranged sweetheart. Of course, after a breakup, everything is a loan, which the ex-girlfriend confirmed by saying they were just gifts. It was fairly obvious that the younger girlfriend used the man as a cash machine, but Judy doesn't reward fools, choosing to dismiss the case as he had no documents to prove the money was loaned.