Top 10 Most Shocking Judge Judy Moments

Once you give Judge Judy access to your health records, anything goes. This defendant lies to her about the treatment he received for an incident with the plaintiff, and when she retrieves his documents, she exposes the real reason he went to the doctor. He was being treated for a more private medical reason that he probably doesn’t want aired out on national TV. The fact is she probably wouldn’t have done this if he hadn’t lied about his visit in order to beef up his case. Still, it’s one of those things you don’t expect to hear on this show.

It’s all downhill the moment the judge asks the plaintiff what kind of company she runs. An adult novelty business owner is suing the defendant for a list of personal items she kept. This list is long, vulgar, and pretty shocking for a daytime court show. Apparently, the defendant was satisfied enough with these items to keep them without paying for them. What’s worse, what was returned was, let’s just say, not properly cleaned after use. From the whimsical names for these naughty items to Judge Sheindlin’s reactions, this case just spins out of control in record time.

This case takes the phrase “waste not, want not,” to a whole new level. What Carol Dettenheim lacks in financial responsibility, she more than makes up for in her resourcefulness. After hitting a deer with her sister’s car, she did the only thing she could think of. She brought it home and cooked it up. If this weren’t grim enough, the only offer she made to make things right with her sister was a bowl of stew with the deer meat. Her sister’s in-court response, that she wasn’t going to eat “rigor mortis stew,” has gone on to become a classic “Judge Judy” moment.

While filming in Antigua, defendant Dr. Noel Howell alleges the plaintiff was hired and fired as a makeup artist on the shoot. Howell presents himself well and seems pretty normal. That may still be true, but it’s also what makes his decision to recreate the plaintiff’s alleged erratic, intoxicated behavior in the court all the more hilarious and borderline terrifying. Even his friend and witness can’t keep it together. Usually, the judge is quick about shutting this kind of behavior down, but even she seems shocked to dress him down. Or maybe she’s just as entertained as we are.

It’s rare that Judge Judy lets anyone else decide a case in her courtroom. But here she entrusts the verdict to a dog. The plaintiff’s poodle was stolen, and he believes the thief sold him to the defendant. The judge instructs the defendant’s witness to bring the dog into the courtroom to settle this once and for all. Despite the defendant’s pleas not to do it, the witness lets the dog go, and he runs right to the plaintiff. Some things aren’t a matter of paperwork. Sometimes the evidence is plain as day. The judge is satisfied, and it’s a perfect ending.

Exes fighting over their children tends to bring out the worst in them. One of Judge Judy’s favorite maxims is “You have to love your children more than you hate each other.” Defendant Cathleen Kreftmeyer clearly doesn’t think this applies to her. She baselessly told her very young daughter that the plaintiff might not be her father. The judge, who comes from family court, absolutely lays into Kreftmeyer for being so careless and cruel to her ex and her daughter. The defendant’s complete indignation at this is pretty pathetic to watch, and it just drives home how incredibly wrongheaded she is in the first place. Luckily, Judge Sheindlin specializes in setting people straight.

In a particularly ugly case, the judge sifts through evidence over a vicious attack between roommates. Plaintiff Kyley Jones alleges the defendant, her ex-roommate, threw boiling water on her while she slept. As horrifying as that is, Jones’s insistence that the responding officer was a fake officer makes it clear that there’s more here than meets the eye. The police and medical reports from that evening paint a picture of substance abuse. As it unfolds, the judge is so disturbed by the case that she is genuinely compassionate toward Jones in a way we don’t always see from her.

Every “Judge Judy” fan knows about Karina Roy, but they might not know her name. The plaintiff was suing her former landlord over unpaid rent and unreturned items. But the problem all seemed to stem from one issue: Tupperware. To hear Roy’s version of events, her collection of prized plastic food containers became a weapon in a brutal assault. To anyone else who hears this story, she just sounds overdramatic. Clearly, the judge had a lot more patience in the early days of the program. Roy’s histrionics wouldn’t even get past the ten second mark these days.

Defendant Danny Gonzales must think he’s on a different show. The judge gets on him about his being 21 years old, and he tells her he has 10 children. He decides it would be smart to make an inappropriate, barely-coherent joke about her daughter being the mother of one of his many kids. The judge doesn’t even have to expend the energy of raising her voice. That almost makes it even more tense. Her audience’s audible shock is enough. She instead explains all the ways in which he and his 10 unfortunate children are barely a blip on her radar.

This is one of those cases that starts with a horrific premise and just gets worse. Wendy Moore is suing defendant Nelda Bailey, whose daughter died in a car accident while driving Moore’s car. She’s suing for damages. The problem here is that Moore allows her unlicensed son to drive her car, and he was the one who gave Bailey’s daughter the keys. The circumstances are tragic enough. However, to sue another mother whose daughter died partially due to your own negligent parenting is the height of hubris. Even after the judge berates her for her callous and unfeeling attitude, Moore is unwilling to offer condolences. Instead of money, she earns the disgust of Judge Judy, the audience, and the millions watching from home.

What’s your favorite “Judge Judy” moment from over the years? Let us know in the comments.