Hot Bench

A look at the personal and professional lives of the judges, lawyers, clerks, bailiffs and cops who work at an L.A. County courthouse.

A gorgeous Yankee litigator and a charming southern attorney must hide their intense mutual attraction as a police sex scandal threatens to tear the city of Charleston, S.C. apart.  

Couples in crisis turn to the honorable Judge Lynn Toler for a life-altering decision to get married or break up for good.

In this crime anthology series, viewers discover how an ordinary person got caught up in an extraordinary situation, ultimately revealing how one wrong turn leads to another, until it’s too late to turn back. Told from the defendant’s point of view, each episode opens in a courtroom on the accused without knowing their crime or how they ended up on trial.

Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of criminal defense attorney Ben Matlock. The show, produced by The Fred Silverman Company, Dean Hargrove Productions, Viacom Productions and Paramount Television originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC; and from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC. The show's format is similar to that of CBS's Perry Mason, with Matlock identifying the perpetrators and then confronting them in dramatic courtroom scenes. One difference, however, was that whereas Mason usually exculpated his clients at a pretrial hearing, Matlock usually secured an acquittal at trial, from the jury.

The People's Court is an American arbitration-based reality court show currently presided over by retired Florida State Circuit Court Judge Marilyn Milian. Milian, the show's longest-reigning arbiter, handles small claims disputes in a simulated courtroom set. The People's Court is the first court show to use binding arbitration, introducing the format into the genre in 1981. The system has been duplicated by most of the show's successors in the judicial genre. Moreover, The People's Court is the first popular, long-running reality in the judicial genre. It was preceded only by a few short-lived realities in the genre; these short-lived predecessors were only loosely related to judicial proceedings, except for one: Parole took footage from real-life courtrooms holding legal proceedings. Prior to The People's Court, the vast majority of TV courtroom shows used actors, and recreated or fictional cases. Among examples of these types of court shows include Famous Jury Trials and Your Witness. The People's Court has had two contrasting lives. The show's first life was presided over solely by former Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Joseph Wapner. His tenure lasted from the show's debut on September 14, 1981, until May 21, 1993, when the show was cancelled due to low ratings. This left the show with a total of 2,484 ½-hour episodes and 12 seasons. The show was taped in Los Angeles during its first life. After being cancelled, reruns aired until September 9, 1994.

Mike is contacted daily by members of the public who need to have small disputes resolved. Bolhuis Beslis is a platform for the parties involved to have their cases heard and decided by Mike, who has the experience and background to provide an unbiased, fair solution to the problem, thereby forgoing the expensive legal route which would otherwise have been the only solution to the problem.

A cruel and vicious judge, who wields power only for herself, meets a warm and cheerful detective who puts the victims first.

Crime & Punishment is a 2002 reality television, nontraditional court show spin-off of the Law & Order franchise. It premiered on NBC on Sunday, June 16, 2002, and ran through the summers of 2002, 2003, and 2004.

James Kavanagh QC is one of the top flight barristers in Britain. Each episode has him handling challenging cases and defendants which put his skills to the test regularly.

How certain people end up being accused of a crime.

A series of reports chosen by "Dateline" correspondents that answers the question they most often get asked — what their most memorable story is and why.

Jerry Springer is now moving from the stage to behind the bench in this new court show where he will be presiding cases.

The gripping true crime event follows a re-enactment of a real manslaughter case, presented word-for-word with actors, before a new jury of 12 everyday Australians. But will they come to the same verdict as the original trial?

In a gripping new Court TV original documentary series, host David Scott (HBO Real Sports, ABC News) ventures inside high-security prisons to delve into the minds of convicted murderers. Through in-depth interviews and direct confrontations, Scott seeks to uncover the motives and mindsets that led these individuals to commit murder. The series offers a rare glimpse into the psychological and emotional factors driving heinous crimes, providing viewers with a chilling yet insightful look at some of the most dangerous criminals behind bars.

Judge Mablean Ephriam, who presided over "Divorce Court" from 1999-2006 as the first star of the revived version of the show, returns to the courtroom genre with his half-hour series that deals with life and the law. The former Los Angeles-based prosecutor takes on the typical cases that are found on TV court shows. The arbitrator says that her show "will be life because everything we do, it involves the law."

A true-crime series examining the most shocking murder investigations and toughest trials in Texas history - all told with Kelly's unique insight and unparalleled access. As Chief of Special Crimes in the busiest courthouse in the Lone Star state, Kelly Siegler battled to get killers into courtrooms to face their formidable defense attorneys. With her own firsthand accounts, alongside investigators and victims' families, Kelly reveals what really happened beyond the newspaper headlines to bring Texas-style justice.

Popular lawyer Anne-France Goldwater takes an honest look at real legal cases that are as unusual as they are hard to settle!

Sex In Court is a British factual entertainment series which premiered on E4 on 29 March 2007. It takes a look at bedroom politics within modern relationships. The pilot features mother of two Rachel, who brings her husband Guy to court over a clash of lovemaking styles. Each episode sees people put on trial by their partner, or ex-partner. In a formal, court-like atmosphere, each party will be thoroughly cross-examined by a judge. Due to its nature E4 will air this programme after the watershed. The theme of the programme is very similar to Playboy TV's Sex Court.

Rafferty's Rules was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1987 to 1990 on the Seven Network. Rafferty's Rules was one of the first programs undertaken by the Seven Network's then new in-house drama unit, going into production in May 1985 as "a 15-part courtroom drama". The program had started out as a pilot episode, recorded in early 1984 with the actor Chris Haywood in the lead role. When the pilot episode was remounted later in 1984, Chris Haywood wasn't available and the lead role was re-cast to John Wood. This second recording was eventually broadcast as the program's first episode.