Sarah Palin has signed a deal to get her own Judge Judy -style courtroom TV show even though she’s never been a judge and doesn’t even have a law degree, MSN is reporting.
According to a source close to the negotiations, Palin signed the deal back in February with Warm Springs, a Montana-based production company. She and the company have since put together a team, which includes the executive who found both Judge Judy and Judge Joe Brown, to develop and market the show.
“It’s a production deal. What happens next is she’ll meet with stations, make a pilot and sell it.”
There’s a stark difference, however, between Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, and Sarah Palin: the former two have law degrees and long careers behind the bench. Sarah Palin has neither. In fact, the most formal education Palin has is a Bachelor’s degree in communications, with an emphasis in journalism, from the University of Idaho, according to U.S. News & World Report .
So how can someone without a law degree judge civil cases, as in courtroom TV shows like Judge Judy or Judge Joe Brown ?
When you’re watching such a show, what the producers don’t tell you is that you’re not watching actual court proceedings in an actual courtroom. Instead, you’re watching arbitration taking place on a TV soundstage that is made to look like a courtroom.
In arbitration, both sides in a dispute agree beforehand to abide by the decision of the arbiter — a third party who has no connection to the case. Parties in disputes often choose arbitration over the courts for a variety of reasons: they don’t want their dirty laundry to be a matter of public record, for example, or they want their dispute settled by someone who may have specific knowledge about their dispute, rather than a judge and/or jury who may not understand the dispute enough to make a fair ruling. For example, an athlete may take his salary dispute with his team to an arbiter because the arbiter may have more knowledge about the sports industry than a regular judge.
Or, in the case of daytime TV courtroom shows, the parties like being in front of the TV cameras and are more than happy to take a nice check from the production company for their appearance on the show.
In the case of Judge Judy , Judge Joe Brown , or any similar daytime court show, the judges have actual law degrees and actual experience behind the bench, but that isn’t legally a requirement to be an arbiter. That’s how someone like Sarah Palin, who has been a politician but never a lawyer or judge, can host a daytime courtroom TV show.
Lacking legal education and experience, what qualities does Sarah Palin have that make her a candidate to host a courtroom TV show?
According to the source, “Palin’s telegenic personality, wide appeal and common sense wisdom make her a natural for this kind of format and she was Warm Springs’ top pick for this project.”
Not everyone is as excited about the prospect of Sarah Palin being a “judge” as her TV production company if the comments on social media are to be believed.
If your life is so bad you’re actually going to a Judge Sarah Palin for help, you’re in my prayers.
— ¡Gabe! Ortíz (@TUSK81) March 22, 2016
@Karoli A better premise would be a courtroom show where @SarahPalinUSA & members of her family are dragged before a judge each week.
— TonyD (@Dogger55) March 22, 2016
Sarah Palin’s courtroom TV show, which as of this writing hasn’t been given a name, will premiere in 2017.
[Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images]
