Joseph A. Wapner

Judge Joseph A. Wapner was interviewed for nearly two hours in Century City, CA.  Wapner talked about his twelve-year tenure as the presiding judge on the landmark syndicated series The People’s Court.  He talked about the start of the series, some memorable cases, and reaction to the show’s success.  He discussed his opinion of the role of a judge and the part that The People’s Court had in educating the public about the law.  Wapner also talked about his career as a lawyer, then later a judge, for the Los Angeles Municipal and Superior Court.  He described his later courtroom series Animal Court (for the Animal Planet cable network) as well as other television appearances he has made through the years.  B-roll consisted of memorabilia from his tenure in Superior Court, as well as a few publicity stills from his television career.  The interview was conducted by Gary Rutkowski on July 11, 2005.