Judge Joseph Wapner, who presided over cases from 1981 to 1993.

Doug Llewelyn, the court reporter from 1981 to 1993.

The People's Court was the first widely popular American "judge show." in which actual small claims court cases are heard. It first ran in syndication from 1981 to 1993 for 2,484 episodes. It has currently run in its present format since 1997; the new version aired its 1,000th episode in 2003. Judge Joseph Wapner, in a scene from The Peoples Court on I Love the 80s. ... Judge Joseph Wapner, in a scene from The Peoples Court on I Love the 80s. ... In the law of the United States, many U.S. states have established small claims courts. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1993 is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The judge for the show's first twelve years was Joseph Wapner. Rusty Burrell was his bailiff and Doug Llewelyn was the court reporter, who would announce the matter of the dispute at the beginning of each "trial". He would also interview the plaintiff and the defendant after the court ruling, to gauge their responses to the verdict. Llewelyn would often end each episode with a jaunty "Don't take the law into your own hands: you take 'em to court," which became something of a 1980s catch phrase. The People's Court dealt in small-claims matters, and as such would not deal with losses which added up to more than $1,500. Judge Wapner Judge Joseph A. Wapner (born November 15, 1919 in Los Angeles, California) pioneered real-life courtroom television with The Peoples Court, which ran in syndication from 1981 to 1993 for 2,484 episodes. ... A Bailiff in a United States courtroom Bailiff (from Late Latin bajulivus, adjectival form of bajulus) is a governor or custodian; cf. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 60s and 70s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... A catch phrase is a phrase or expression that is popularized, usually through repeated use, by a real person or fictional character. ...

Researchers for the show would examine small claims filings in Southern California and approach the plaintiff and defendant in interesting cases. The producers would offer to have Judge Wapner mediate the dispute if they would agree to dismiss their action and be bound by Judge Wapner's decision (essentially a form of arbitration). Through this approach, the show could get real people with real cases. State nickname: The Golden State Other U.S. States Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) Official languages English Area 410,000 km² (3rd)  - Land 404,298 km²  - Water 20,047 km² (4. ... Arbitration, in the context of law, is a form of alternative dispute resolution — specifically, a legal alternative to litigation whereby the parties to a dispute agree to submit their respective positions (through agreement or hearing) to a neutral third party (the arbitrator(s) or arbiter(s)) for resolution. ...

Today, the small claims court will deal with matters up to $5,000. The new version of the show has been through three judges since its premiere: former New York City mayor Ed Koch presided over the court from 1997 to 1999, and judge Jerry Sheindlin (husband of Judge Judy judge Judith Sheindlin) made rulings from 1999 to 2001. Since then, the judge on the program has been Marilyn Milian, who has been the only Hispanic court judge on television. Marilyn Milian's bailiff on the show is Douglas MacIntosh. Curt Chaplin is the court reporter, and attorney Harvey Levin takes comments about each case from onlookers in Times Square. In the law of the United States, many U.S. states have established small claims courts. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... A mayor (from the Latin maīor, meaning larger,greater) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch, LL.B (born December 12, 1924) was the Mayor of New York City from 1978 to 1989. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 is a common year starting on Friday Anno Domini (or the Current Era), and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... Judge Jerry Sheindlin was the judge on The Peoples Court from 1999 to 2001. ... Judge Judith Sheindlin Judge Judy is a United States syndicated television show. ... Judge Judith Sheindlin Judith Sheindlin (born Judith Blum on October 21, 1942 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American family court judge, who after retiring in 1996 became famous by hosting her own syndicated court show, Judge Judy. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Marilyn Milian (born May 1, 1961 in Queens, New York) was a former Miami Circuit Court judge and is a current host of The Peoples Court. ... Hispanic, as used in the United States, is one of several terms used to categorize U.S. immigrants for whose background hail either from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America or the original settlers of the traditionally Spanish-held Southwestern United States. ... Times Square Times Square is also the name of a station on the Detroit People Mover, a shopping mall in Hong Kong, and a 1980 movie. ...

PARODY: In 1995, Judge Wapner appeared on the Fox Network's science fiction show Sliders as "himself" in the parallel world version of this program where, as a Soviet judge, he sentences Rembrandt Brown to 15 years in the Alaskan gulag! The Fox Broadcasting Company is a television network in the United States. ... Sliders is a science fiction television series that ran from 1995–2000, across five seasons. ... Soviet redirects here. ... Rembrandt Brown (born March 4, 1955) was a fictional character played by Cleavant Derricks on the science fiction television show Sliders. ... For other uses, see Alaska (disambiguation). ... Gulag (Russian: ГУЛАГ   listen?) is an acronym for Главное Управление Исправительно— Трудовых Лагерей и колонии, Glavnoye Upravleniye Ispravitelno-trudovykh Lagerey i kolonii, The Chief Directorate [or Administration] of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies. Anne Applebaum, in her book Gulag: A History, explains: Literally, the word GULAG is an acronym, meaning Glavnoe Upravlenie Lagerei, or Main Camp Administration. ...

British version

A British version of the show was produced by Scottish Television to replace Trisha Goddard's chat show in 2005. The court reporter was Carol Smilie, and the male judge (there were two) was Jerome Lynch. Scottish Television is Scotlands largest independent television station, and has held the ITV franchise for Central Scotland since 1957. ... Trisha Goddard (born 1957) is well known for her presentation of the ITV morning talk show Trisha. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Carol Smillie (born December 23, British television personality, best known for presenting the BBC series Changing Rooms. ...