Every once in a while I read a book good enough to share. I recently read Judge Judy Sheindlin’s book Don’t Pee on My Leg and Tell Me Its’ Raining. I almost didn’t buy that book because I have never been a fan of Judge Judy, but it was on sale for half price. What’s a book lover to do? I’ve watched only a few of her TV courtroom programs and found her to be very insensitive, cold and abrupt with people who appeared before her bench. The book gave me a light bulb moment — meaning that I now realize why the judge is the way she is, and in so doing I changed my opinion of her 360 degrees. Ok 359 1/2. But I no longer view her as the wicked witch of the bench.
Judge Judy served as a Manhattan Family Court judge for over 24 years. Using real life case histories in her book, she give a no holds barred critique of “a criminal-friendly, criminal justice system” that shows more consideration for the criminals than it does for their victims. She pimp slaps readers with the disturbing revelation that many of this country’s laws need serious revision.
Relevant to minors, Judge Judy believes, as do many laypersons that juveniles who commit what in decades past were primarily adult crimes (armed robbery, rape, murder, and mayhem) should do adult time and in that regard the rules of confidentiality regarding identification of juveniles should be eliminated and punishment for all convicts stiffened. As the system is now, “Hard time,” she says “is good time and good time is a joke.”
One case that actually turned my stomach concerned a man caught in the act of robbing a seventy-two year old senior on a subway platform. When a transit office heard the victim screaming he rushed to the scene and shot the fleeing robber in the leg. Although the thug pleaded guilty to armed robbery, he subsequently sued the transit authority for his injuries and was awarded $4.3 million. Hmm, maybe the officer should have aimed higher.
The judge lays it all on the line, in addition to expressing her opinion of bad judges and bad juries, Judge Judy attacks the welfare system that enables able bodied citizens who refuse to work for a living and she does not exclude immigrants who, once they are in America, soon realize that they too can jump on the social services bandwagon and get a free ride. The judge makes her point that the system encourages irresponsible behavior. “We have permitted and tacitly encourage welfare dependency to become a lifestyle, rather than a safety net.” But she also acknowledges that for the truly needy – not just the greedy, “It is also a place where some people legitimately try to get off the dole and live productive lives.”
I absolutely detest criminals, but this book begs the question, “Who says that crime does not pay?” See Judge Judy in action on YouTube.