South side of the 6900 block of Hollywood Boulevard
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Judge Joseph Wapner
Born
Nov. 15, 1919
in Los Angeles, CA
For 11 seasons retired Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Joseph Wapner decided actual small-claims cases on "The People's Court," a show that went on the air in 1981. The program turned real-life litigation into a TV game show. During 2,340 half-hours defendants and plaintiffs plead their cases before Wapner, who then sternly ruled on who had won. A native Californian, Wapner earned a bachelor of arts degree in philosophy and a law degree from the University of Southern California. On the bench, he spent more than 20 years hearing both criminal and civil cases in Municipal and Superior courts. He was also chosen by his peers to be presiding judge of Superior Court and served as president of the California Judges Assn. There were no landmark cases during Wapner's long career. "Trial judges never make history," he said. When his retirement came on Nov. 16, 1979, Wapner was ready. "I had accomplished as much as I thought I could as a judge," he said. "and I thought it was time to move on and do some other things." On "The People's Court," Wapner served as a private judge solving disputes between private individuals. Wapner originally agreed to do "The People's Court" because of the "integrity" of producers Ralph Edwards and Stu Billett and the authenticity of the show. "They had investigated and researched for four or five years," he said. "They knew what they were doing." He liked being able to talk about the cases and his decisions — an opportunity he didn't have in small claims court.
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