No freaking way. Not whether I thought I was right, or knew I was wrong. I could never do it. But I am super shy and hate the spotlight. I would never want to be on TV for any reason.
What about you?
I would love to, but preferably as a witness for one side or the other, rather than a litigant.
shareIf I lived in Stamford, Conn. I would be one of the audience members.
Some of them laugh, some of them look bored and some look on incredulous that people are so stupid!
My mom got mail from this one and one or two other court shows but was like not doing that when she was waiting to take the previous owner of her house to court. I would not like her
shareI'm with you.
I don't even have a Facebook page because I don't want my real name out on the internet in any capacity. I am as anonymous as you can get in this age where everyone shares everything with everyone.
Good question! No.
Honestly, if I were an actual participant with a real stake in the outcome, I just don't trust this court (or any TV court) to conduct a fair trial and issue a just decision. Judge Milian is fine a lot of the time, but I'd be too uptight about getting her on a bad day.
Come to think of it, I'm enough of a cynic that I don't trust "real" courts much either. I'm grateful that, so far, I've only been an occasional observer.
This may be a different topic, but I always wonder why people insist on not having their real names/business names used on the air.
It just seems silly, since litigants volunteer to be on (inter)national TV in the first place. If you're willing to put yourself and your pathetic, petty legal tangles out there, common sense suggests that you'd either welcome or at least tolerate the exposure that comes with the territory.
Even if you're not one of those people who would call up everybody they know to announce that they were going to appear on TPC, there's got to be some buzz about it. I mean, it's not like they block their faces or disguise their voices.
It just seems dumb to want to appear on TV but somehow hope that nobody will notice that it's you.
I always wonder why people insist on not having their real names/business names used on the air.
Hell no!
shareI was actually called to a plaintiff. I declined. I didn't think the defendants would show. I am still thinking about it :) they did say to call if I changed my mind!
shareYou raise an interesting point.
My first half-thought was that you ought to be more willing to go if you thought your opponent wouldn't even show up.
It was a half-thought because I quickly remembered that TV courts don't televise one-party cases; I'm not counting the occasional cases where disruptive litigants are ordered to leave, and they show the empty dock or whatever it's called for the remainder of the case.
But I wonder what does happen when one side doesn't show, which must happen often enough. Does Judge Milian issue a default judgement in favor of the party that does show up, which is more or less what happens in real courts?
The alternative is for TPC to "remand" the case back to real small-claims court, which seems unfair to the party who does show up. If they do this, I assume they give the litigant who showed up some consideration for their trouble and wasted time.
Did you ask? Because now I'm curious to find out.
When I expressed my concern about the defendant showing up, her exact words were- don't worry about that. We have ways of getting them to show.
My case would be a complicated one bc the defendant is actually being charged by the federal courts right now. I did just file small claims, but in the state in NJ. We will see what happens! I have already won a large judgement, but won't collect bc he has nothing. I decided to bring a new case for something different.
We will see :)
@ Nac89 - Would the ways of getting them to show be money? Did they tell you how much money is paid for just showing up whether you win or lose? I know they put people up in hotel rooms and a paid trip to the show but I always wondered how much they pay just for being on their show. I would guess that the winner would take home more.
I certainly wouldn't want a lawsuit I was involved in to be on there, no. I'm talking about being the litigant. Now, as a witness, I don't know. But probably not.
share