Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Judy Justice’ Season 3 on Amazon Freevee, Featuring More Decisions From TV Courtroom Favorite Judy Sheindlin (2024)

You can stream all 61 25-minute episodes at once of Judy Justice Season 3 on Amazon Freevee, if that’s what you’re into. Which sure is a lot of watching a wealthy former jurist put everyday people in their place during a small screen version of small claims court. But then again, appearing on Judge Judy for over 6,000 episodes netted Judy Sheindlin hundreds of millions of dollars, so there remains a durable marketplace for daytime television arbitration. Judy Justice, which first aired in 2021, offers a few visual tweaks to the familiar Judge Judy format, adds a new bailiff – fan favorite Petri Hawkins-Byrd now bailiffs on the Sheindlin-created spinoff Tribunal Justice – and also amplifies the potential cash damages from $5,000 to ten grand.

JUDY JUSTICE – SEASON 3: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: As the plaintiff and defendant enter, we’re introduced to who’s around the bench: the judge herself, who for Judy Justice sports maroon robes without the lacy white blouse collar; the bailiff, Kevin Rasco; the court reporter, Whitney Kumar; and the law clerk, Sarah Rose, who sits to the judge’s right. Sarah Rose Levy is Judy Sheindlin’s real-life granddaughter.

The Gist: As it has been since The People’s Court debuted this format in 1981, Judy Justice begins with descriptions of its participants and their respective beef. Season 3 of the series will feature everything from landlord-tenant disputes, arguments between a man and his current and former girlfriends, and custody battles over pets, in addition to many more of the courtroom drama-inducing subjects the show’s researchers hunt down in the nation’s court dockets. But as we begin the season, it’s an argument at a kids’ baseball game that is before the judge.

“Calvin Green is suing youth baseball coach Francisco Bagues for lost wages and damages from an assault.” On the line? The maximum penalty of $10,000. While Green, an umpire, says youth coach Bagues put his hands on him and raised his fist, Bagues tries to explain the extenuating circumstances of his anger, which concern a related disagreement with the baseball tournament officials, team parents angry about participation fees, and accusations of cheating.

Sheindlin is her typical TV self during these proceedings, which usually involves a combination of putting the people in her court on the spot and then cutting them off, gathering bits and pieces of each person’s story and applying that information to her ruling, and a few references to her grandchildren that are maybe supposed to offer levity but mostly feel forced. Sheindlin usually hears one case at a time, though Judy Justice will occasionally present a two-in-one episode, and it again upholds the usual format, with the litigants given a chance to comment once the ruling has been given. Judy Justice also includes a concluding segment from inside the judge’s chambers, which summarizes the courtroom action and usually features law clerk Sarah Rose delivering her interpretation of Sheindlin’s latest ruling.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? While Judy Sheindlin’s Judy Justice is in direct daily competition with reruns of her old show Judge Judy, there are plenty of other small claims courts in the reality TV landscape. Will you take your dispute to Judge Steve Harvey? Or how about Star Jones, who has hosted Divorce Court since 2022? And did you know that Tubi streams episodes of Gary Busey: Pet Judge, which is exactly what it sounds like?

Our Take: The perennial popularity of TV judge shows proves that people just love to watch other people take it on the chin. That has to be it, right? Or at least mostly. Maybe we see something of ourselves and all of our respective little problems in the small claims issues being adjudicated. After all, isn’t that a big part of it, and part of why people agree to appear on these shows in the first place? That each of us just wish to be heard?

Whatever problems and relative solutions we the viewers project into a TV courtroom, the fact of the format’s durability remains, and Judy Justice banks directly on the popularity of its star’s previous version. At times it feels like Judy Sheindlin is not only the main attraction, but the only attraction, since she tends to give short shrift to the explanations and responses being presented in the courtroom, and Justice uses relentlessly quick edits to build tension and present the judge as the only voice that really matters. There’s always a moment where you sense which way she’s leaning, and the cameras are there to catch the losing litigant off balance. “He’s old enough to be your father! How dare you put your hands on him.” It’s one line from the season 3 premiere. But you can bet Sheindlin has a version of it for every one of Judy Justice’s many, many episodes.

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: In the usual postgame interviews outside the courtroom, hot takes on the ruling are split down the middle, with “I think it was a little unfair” up against “I think the judge made the right decision.” But Judy Justice also adds its concluding segment, called “Chambers,” where the judge discusses the case and ruling with her law clerk.

Sleeper Star: The plaintiff’s son describes a situation that resembles every single viral news story about adults who should know better behaving badly during youth sports. “When he charged after the tournament director, no one cared to stop him. And after I had defended my dad, I was then jumped by about five of the parents…”

Our Call: If you’re already a fan of the TV courtroom reality format, Judy Justice is a STREAM IT. It’s got all the component parts of this durable type of daytime television, juiced by the presence of Judy Sheindlin. The name of her show has changed, but the judge’s demeanor on the bench hasn’t.

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.