I love those shows. I don't know why. It's voyeurism and I'm ashamed of myself. But... but... I just love those shows.
Judge Wapner was the first reality TV, if you ask me. And even if you don't. :-)
I used to watch all the judge programs I could on lunch (Judge Brown, etc.). Although they have nothing to do with real courts, it was always heartening to see that, no matter how much I thought my life sucked at the time, at least I wasn't as bad off as the retarded morons that appeared in these programs and tried to bamboozle the judge.
I dunno...some of the people really do benefit from them, I think...especially, like I say, those with dental problems.