Oprah v. Judge Judy

I was intrigued by last week’s rankings of the most popular daytime television shows in America.  For the first time in over a decade, “Oprah” had fallen from the top.  Perhaps the appeal of the long-time queen of daytime television is in decline.  What replaced Oprah’s smarmy, ingratiating patter?  My goodness, the most popular daytime television show is now “Judge Judy.”

The staying power and influence of “Judge Judy” are noteworthy, especially for those of us in the law.  The show premiered in 1996, and Judy’s aggressive pontificating has inspired literally a dozen copy-cat shows.  Large numbers of Americans love to watch the good Judge and her ilk, and in Milwaukee it is literally possible to watch daytime judge shows continuously from breakfast to dinner.  Dasha Slater, writing in “Legal Affairs,” has dubbed the most avid viewers of these shows not “couch potatoes” but rather “court potatoes.”

Is there cause for concern?  On the one hand “Judge Judy” and the other daytime judge shows are only fleeting entertainment, but on the other hand they project and endorse a particular variety of courtroom justice.  It is meted out without the help of counsel and refined procedural rules by authoritarian figures prone to intense and stinging moral condemnation.  Maybe we’d be better off if people turned back to “Oprah.”

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Foreclosure Mediation Take 2?

I am grateful to Paul Kirgis (in this post) for restarting the discussion on foreclosure mediation—it is useful to keep revisiting what is working and what is not.

The New York Times article he cites is interesting in a number of ways. First, as Paul notes, it confuses the process of mediation with the underlying applicable law. Mediation—voluntary as in our program or mandatory as in Nevada—occurs in the shadow of HAMP and other regulations and financial realities governing the ability of the parties to make loan modifications.

Second, the article highlights some of the issues with mandatory mediation where, it appears, there are a whole bunch of lenders showing up with little interest, or even ability, to modify the mortgages.  

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Can You Be Forced to Turn Over Your Social Network Passwords in a Civil Case?

Let’s say you’re the plaintiff in a civil case against a neighbor, an employer, or a company you’ve done business with. One of the many pains of litigation is the discovery process–the process whereby each side collects information that it believes will help it win the case. Discovery can come in many forms, such as conducting depositions (sworn testimony from witnesses), requesting documents, or even requesting permission to visit a site and look around.

But let’s say that you have a Facebook account. The other side believes that some of your Facebook communications might be relevant to the case, so they specifically request access to your account. You refuse, and the issue goes to the court to sort out (if you’re in federal court, under Rule 37, for those of you playing at home). How should the court rule? Specifically, what should the court order you to do? Do you have to give the password for your account over to a party that, to put it mildly, you are probably not on the best of terms with?

Surprisingly, at least one court has said yes [Update: see comments below], and I believe similar requests are being made in courts all around the country. I believe this is a deeply disturbing development and is the result of either a failure to understand social networking technology, the rules of civil procedure, or both.

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