Judge Judy Sheindlin is a Supreme Court Justice according to 10 percent of recent college graduates in a poll conducted by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Time reports that those polled may have been thrown off by the researchers’ use of Judge Judy’s actual given name of Judith Sheindlin, but still, the fact that one out of ten recent college graduates associated Judge Judy with the Supreme Court rather than her infamous Judge Judy television show seemed to cause the researchers some concern.
Twitter, however, considered the findings to be quite humorous:
Study shows 10% of USA college grads believe Judge Judy serves on the Supreme Court. ISIS, you’re trying too hard.
— John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) January 19, 2016
Judge Judy would probably be an okay Supreme Court justice.
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) January 19, 2016
Supreme Court Justice Judge Judy? Parents your child’s B.A. may in fact be a bunch of B.S. https://t.co/p58awHJgOg pic.twitter.com/nMHkL0slfs
— Christie (@ChristieC733) January 20, 2016
The news of Judge Judy’s misrepresentation as a Supreme Court Justice was reported by multiple media outlets, seemingly in an effort to shame Americans on their lack of civil knowledge. However, The Washington Post suggested that perhaps it was the poll that was misrepresented, not Judge Judy herself.
According to the Post , on top of the confusion those taking the poll may have experienced when Judge Judy was referred to as Judith Sheindlin, Judge Judy’s given name was part of a multiple choice question. While most people know who Judge Judy is, the name Judith Sheindlin might have been chosen because it was “familiar” but not necessarily “known” or that the participants who did choose Judge Judy may have simply been guessing. In fact, as the Post points out, 66 percent of the participants chose the correct option of Elena Kagan. And while a 66 percent in college grade terms will earn you a D, in poll terms, it equals a majority.
Judge Judy is the star of a reality courtroom drama named, of all things, Judge Judy . The show started in syndication in 1996 and features the judge presiding over small claims matters. Known for her no-nonsense and often harsh responses to plaintiffs and defendants, Judge Judy provides riveting and hilarious television moments that have kept the show as a leader in daytime television ratings. Judge Judy has been nominated for thirteen daytime Emmys, finally snagging one in 2013.
While Judge Judy was never appointed to the Supreme Court, Judy did gain some national attention prior to her television show with a reputation as one of the toughest judges in American family court when the Los Angeles Times wrote an article on the judge in February of 1993. This article lead to a 60 Minutes story which served as a platform for Judy’s impending television career. According to Forbes , Judge Judy hauled in a cool $47 million in 2015, making her one of the highest earning television stars. Considering that a Supreme Court Justice only makes $223,500 annually, it seems like Judge Judy might have gotten the better end of the deal.
So what did Judge Judy have to say about the mix up? On the Judge’s official Facebook, Judy simply shared an article citing the report with this shout out, “Thank you to the fan who submitted this article… Interesting to say the least.” Perhaps Judy was too busy dealing with the damage to her private jet earlier this week by El Nino to really care. Or maybe Judy had forty-seven million other reasons to laugh about it. Or maybe Judy is wondering when Ruth Bader Ginsburg will get her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
[Judge Judy cover photo via Valerie Macon/Getty Images.]
