Judith Sheindlin, familiarly known as television's Judge Judy, fixes the lawbreaker with her trademark brace-yourself-buddy glare.

"You're drinking my tea?" she says to Jerry Sheindlin, her husband of 29 years, who's lunching alongside her during a production break on her court show. Not bothering to appeal, he stops pouring from her cup into his and returns the property to its rightful owner.

For Judy Sheindlin, marking her 10th season as the star of one of TV's top-rated syndicated shows, watched by 10 million people daily, enforcing justice is a full-time job. Her grandchildren may enjoy some slack; all others, watch out.

That unforgiving approach to small-claims disputes culled from courts nationwide is what draws viewers. When Phil McGraw barks at an errant spouse or parent on "Dr. Phil," he's reflecting the influence of Sheindlin's decade of TV toughness. "Accept responsibility for what you do in everything," the former New York family court judge said in an interview. She was referring to her own expectation of how judges should behave and, in a more expansive view, the world.

At one point, she interrupts herself to search her purse for a stash of newspaper clippings, reports on a series of violent deaths of New York children that have raised questions about city government oversight. "All these articles, you know who they blame? They blame the Administration for Children's Services. Now, I'm not absolving them. ... But that's not where the fault is, really," she said. "The people who are supposed to protect children are their parents."

Source: New York Daily News

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