It is widely accepted that the litigants on Hot Bench are not actors, rather real-life people with real claims which are brought onto the show following extensive research.
Court shows are one of the most popular of the reality format sub-genres, however, the fact that the format is still reality television has caused many to question their authenticity.
One of the most popular of these court shows, which continues to face these assumptions is Hot Bench.
Hot Bench premiered in 2014 and it has become one of daytime television’s most watched syndicated original court shows.
Since its inception, the court show has been transparent about how it gets litigants, which is through researchers visiting small courts across the US to find suitable cases to be on the show. Meaning that all the cases are from real events and people, and not actors.
Hot Bench set to change judges in season nine
For eight seasons of Hot Bench, the judging panel has comprised judges Tanya Acker, Patricia DiMango, and Michael Corriero.
This panel was hand-picked by executive producer of the show and pioneer in the court show genre, Judge Judy Sheindlin.
But Amazon Freevee is picking up another court show that is set to be executively produced by Judge Judy Sheindlin, so Acker and DiMango will front the upcoming court show.
On Hot Bench, they will be replaced by judges Yodit Tewolde and Rachel Juarez when it returns for season nine on Monday, 31 October 2022.
Are the litigants on Hot Bench actors?
It is common that the authenticity of reality-format television shows is questioned. Hot Bench is no different as a court show, as many viewers wonder if the litigants that appear on the show are actors or real court cases.
However, considering that the show is executively produced by Judge Judy Sheindlin, the process of finding litigants follows the same stringent structure that her own show followed during its 25 seasons.
It has been reported that Hot Bench has a team of researchers across the country which are tasked with going to small claims courts across the country in search of compelling cases.
These cases, which are estimated to be in the thousands in quantity, are then narrowed down to the ones that are most compelling.
The litigants are then contacted and asked if they would be interested in coming onto the show where they will have their case dealt with by the three judges on the bench.
If they agree, litigants are made to sign a Binding Arbitration Agreement, which is a contract that stipulates that the litigants must accept the verdict that is handed down by the judges.
As such, all the litigants are real. So much so that Hot Bench, like other reputable court shows like Judge Judy, Judy Mathis, and Judge Faith, has yet to face scandal accusing the show of being staged.
Are litigants told what to say on Hot Bench?
In the same way that the litigants on Hot Bench are not actors, they are also not told what to say. However, they are prepared by the producers of the show before stepping in front of the judges’ bench, but they are not told what to say.
The producers work with the litigants beforehand in order to make them comfortable and to prepare them to tell their story as concisely and in as much detail as possible.
This is because the judges might distract the litigants as they tend to interrupt litigants sometimes, resulting in the litigants losing their train of thought as seen before.
Are litigants paid to be on Hot Bench?
While the litigants are real-life people with real small claims, Hot Bench is still a reality television court show.
Therefore, it is reported that litigants who make the cut are flown to the location and afforded a hotel stay before their appearance, at the expense of the production.
Moreover, they are also paid a small and undisclosed compensation fee for appearing on the show. Although the verdict should also be taken into account, which might require that the plaintiff pay remunerations after the verdict has been handed down.
Who pays the complainant if the litigant wins?
An interesting theory is that the show pays the complainant if they win their small claims cases. This is as it is believed that court shows have an amount of money set aside for each small claims case that they feature on Hot Bench.
Therefore, should the complainant win, the show will pay them from the money set aside, and whatever is left is shared between the two parties.
Therefore, if, for instance, a complainant is asking to be compensated $2 500 out of a $5 000 budgeted allowance allocated for the case, they are paid their dues, and the remaining amount is allegedly split between the two parties.
