Customer Reviews

Don't Pee On My Leg & Tell Me It's Raining

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Amazon rocks..arrived in 2 days! I've emailed Judge Judy to get her to autograph the book for a friend, so now will mail the book to her. LOVE the Judge!

Kind of boring, despite the fact that the Judge is my idol. Of sorts. A very disjointed whiney book that should have been better.

Judge Judy, once again, tells it like it is. If you've seen her on TV then you know exactly that she's no pushover. A lot of "bleeding hearts" would never agree with her statements, but I was pleased to read that someone has the courage to stand up and say that things need to change. Being a family court judge, she's seen it all. Women abusing the welfare system by having numerous kids, men hiding from paying child support, people on welfare refusing to work on the basis that it is "below them" and so many other mini case studies fill this book.
I say "Judge Judy for President!!"

I'm so happy Judge Judy came out with this book. Not only does it offer excellent pointers for our lacky government, she gives tips for new lawyers and judges. I'm in college waiting to go to law school, and this book should be required for every class. We can all learn from Judy on what's needed in our judicial system that other judges are lacking. Her suggestions to improve our system make a lot of sense. For example, she believes that once a foster care home is financially stable that we should cut off the money limit we send them. Instead of wasting tax payers money with counselors that aren't needed, let's make sure the housing situation is fine and then stop using our money for waste. If Judge Judy runs for president, she has my vote! YOU GO JUDY YOU ARE MY HERO!!!!!

Judge Judy has something very few people serving in the government have... a sense of responsibility and good old fashioned common sense. If you're tired of having your tax money wasted and frittered by scammers and laziness read this book... you won't be disappointed.

I don't normally read books that are ghostwritten. This one, however, was not only informative but wildly entertaining. See Judge Judy skewer self-proclaimed victims, lazy attorneys, callous bureaucrats, unwed teen mothers, craven foster parents, and in general anyone who while serving themselves degrades the lives we all lead in this land of ours.

The only negative I can think of is that, too often, points that need more detail end up as truncated sound bites. By making her points as succinctly as possible, Judge Judy has justifiably won for herself quite a following -- although the book's trenchant style is not dissimilar to her TV appearances, so I can't blame the ghost writer. I guess I'm just too much of a detail wonk to feel comfortable with short shrift on major subjects. Give me facts, footnotes, and all those other scholarly trappings that take me beyond the level of the merely anecdotal.

But this book is not meant for people like me, though I can enjoy it as much as anyone. Judge Judy's elevation of COMMON SENSE to a principle of jurisprudence is guaranteed to make you think, even if it doesn't satisfy all bases.

"Judge Judy" Sheindlin is the sort of woman who commands respect. To her fans, she's a bastion of common sense, intent on restoring order to a system out of control. To her detractors, she is a menace to civil rights who would turn back the clock on family law. Both her regimen and her reputation are reminiscent of Maggie Thatcher's. Both women came from run-a-day, middle-class backgrounds. Both entered their careers at a time when women faced immense up-hill struggles. Both compensated by becoming "iron ladies," tougher than their male counterparts. Both write and speak clearly and effectively. Their messages are also similar: regress is progress. To improve the system, we've got to go "back to the future."

As an avid fan of her TV program, I was a little disappointed by the format of the book. The writing style is that of a U.S.A. Today editorial. That aside, I could not agree more with her agenda. However, it is crucial that readers understand how sharply her sentiments diverge from contemporary practice... and why.

Needless to say, criminal- and family-law professors are basically the exact opposite of Judge Judy. Most lawyers receive their training from left-wing defense attorneys obsessed with defendants' rights. Even conservative attorneys have been inculcated with a strong distaste for the 1950s justice system. So let me assure readers that the ideas in this book are NOT going to be well received by law's guiding voices. Of course, academics are not the audience this book intends to reach. Sheindlin wants to reach the masses of people who are fed up with a system that prefers the sensitive and the expensive over the draconic and the laconic.

So what are Judge Judy's proposals? Among other things, she recommends:

- Maximum sentences for first-time juvenile offenders. Judy is not afraid to send 14-year-olds to adult prisons. "You're no less dead if your murderer is fifteen or fifty."

- Punitive rather than therapeutic interventions. No more therapy for people who deserve punishment.

- A vast reduction in "handouts" such as welfare, social security disability, foster care grants, or just plain charity. "They are picking our pockets," says Sheindlin.

- If a middle class kid drops out of school, the $2,000 tax break their parents claim should be eliminated.

- Overturn confidentiality laws. Convicted rapists and child sex-offenders should be forced to get HIV-tested. Currently, courts do not have the power to side step the rapists' precious civil rights. Often these become plea-bargaining tools for defense lawyers. Essentially, the defendant agrees to consent to testing if his jail time is lessened. That's just wrong.

- Dead-beat dads should be forced not only to pay up... but also to work.

- Convicted prisoners should either be forced to forfeit their right to free speech, or else personally pay the costs of litigating their complaints. That would unclog the frivolous and often bizarre litigations they bring - like the gang leader who sued the prison over his right to display his "colors" in jail.

- Juvenile delinquents should be photographed and fingerprinted. Their records should not be held confidentially. That is currently illegal in order protect minors.

- The seemingly admirable goal of placing children with their mothers should be abandoned. Group homes show better results for troubled kids from dysfunctional homes and communities.

- Mothers who fraudulently claim that their estranged boyfriends and husbands committed child-abuse should lose their custody. If there's no evidence, it's likely a cooked-up story. Dad, not mom, should get the kids in such cases.

- America needs a national curfew for kids under eighteen. Sheindlin recommends 9 p.m. on weeknights and 12 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

- There should be a total elimination of the parole system. In its place, the rule should be one weekly check-in / drug-test at the nearest police precinct. Those who fail to meet this requirement go back to jail. No ifs, ands, or buts. The warrant should go out five minutes after the "parolee" failed to be there.

- Do away with Public Defenders. Everyone should have to pay. There should be no free rides. The day the defendant starts working is the day the government starts deducting his attorney's cost from his pay.

- Parents should pay the cost of juvenile delinquents' jail times. Why should society pay for their mistakes? Perhaps parents will take criminal delinquency more seriously when their purse is being hit.

- Juvenile courts should not be shielded from public scrutiny. If a judge keeps putting little monsters back on the street, the press should be available to complain about it.

However welcome these reforms might look to the average reader, be assured that there is army of contentious lawyers out there prepared to hack them to bits. To them, Sheindlin's smorgasbord of fixes are really just the fantasies of a harsh disciplinarian. It's important that readers see how unlikely all of her proposals are. Take getting rid of public defenders. I can already hear the chorus of ACLU lawyers chomping at the bit: What about the innocent? What about the poor? What about making sure we get paid on the public dollar - rather than having to collect from these deadbeats?

But don't despair, all you Judge Judy fans out there. It might happen someday... especially if the system keep's going the way it's been going. Keep your fingers crossed. Who knows? Things can always change.

I really enjoyed reading this book. At some points, it really sparked my emotions to think how people from all walks of life try their best to beat the system and take advantage of the innocent and hardworking people. She tells things like it is. She illustrates very well how people lack taking responsibility for thier actions, which is absolutely appalling to me. It was an eye-opening to learn how the court system is often seems an institution of "easy justice" causing it to lose respect by American citizens. I think more Judges like her should have a hard, tough attitude to tackle these issues to initiate changes that are much needed to bring back the moral and dignity of how our courts should be viewed and respected as.

I have to admit that I am in complete agreement with Judge Judy. She is a tough talking, no nonsense, commom sense oriented individual, who believes in personal responsibility and acountability. What you see on the television screen, if you watch her show "Judge Judy", is what you find between the cover of this book.

The book covers a variety of social issues in the context of her legal and judicial experience, and she does a full court press in giving her opinions. Not given to judicial restraint, she speaks out on those issues to which her nearly quarter of a century experience as a judge has entitled her. I only wish that she were running for public office. She would certainly have my vote.

The only issue that I take with the book is that it is really not a cohesive entity. It is a somewhat disjointed collection of essays or opinions on various social issues that repeatedly came up during her years on the bench. There is no attempt to put them together into a broader context, so that one segues into the next. This is the one shortcoming of the book. Nonetheless, it is still an interesting read.

To sum this book up in one sentence is reality with no excuses allowed. This book chronicles Sheindlin's experiences as one of NYC's top family court judges. Sheindlin gives the lowdown on how those who have appeared before her always try to find a scapegoat for their misfortunes and shortcomings. However, Sheindlin is no fool because she can see these people for what they are. Most of them are just ordinary people who fail to take responsibility for their mistakes. People who constantly blame society for their own problems. People who run the gamut with excuses for everything that has gone wrong in their lives without once looking at themselves. From deadbeat dads to irresponsible moms and everything in between, Sheindlin can tell the truly misfortunate from the con artists. I couldn't put this book down. It was such an awesome piece of work. I totally recommend this book to anyone. After reading about Judge Sheindlin's 20+ years as a lawyer and judge, you'll see why it's titled "Don't Pee On My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining."