I have a huge confession to make: I absolutely love court reality television shows! This is no secret to my staff, friends and certainly not my wife. I found out the other day that I am not alone. I was reading a 2004 Trial Lawyer's magazine at a mediation the other day and it said that attorneys are one the biggest consumers of television lawyer shows from dramas to reality shows. I know I should cite my source, but I simply did not write it down. It is in a mediation room in Orlando on the first floor under a phone and very dusty.

My favorite court show by far is "The People's Court." Judge Milian is a former circuit court judge in Florida and brings a lot of her Florida law background into her show. I also really like "Judge Judy," but, then again, who doesn't? I consider it (well, I guess justify my time watching the shows) as an educational process into a litigant's thought process. I know this is a weak excuse to justify my simple entertainment gained by watching some pretty crazy cases. But are reality court television shows actually court proceedings? For most of them, the answer is yes and no at the same time. There are some shows that use actors and therefore the results are nothing more than an extended dramatization. I refuse to watch those shows. You can read the fine print at the end of the show to determine which shows those are.

However, for the cases that use real litigants with real controversies, the "judge's" ruling is generally final and, SURPRISE, may be more binding than a normal courtroom. WHAT? The Secret You Need to Know

Here is the inside secret: the television judges are actually arbitrators. The television show is an arbitration proceeding. The arbitration ruling, at least in Florida, is then submitted to the trial court for confirmation and is very, very difficult to overturn.

Arbitration is a type of alternative dispute process. It is a process where the parties agree that a decision-maker who is not an elected judge decides the outcome of the case.

One can use arbitration for very complex international disputes – for example using the International Court of Arbitration. A lot of complex commercial disputes in the United States are resolved under the guidance and procedures of the American Arbitration Association. The American Industry of Architects has its own arbitration rules and provisions that show up in many construction contracts. We know that even some family law issues can go to arbitration. Certainly most people who sign contracts with large companies do not even realize they agreed to go through arbitration rather than through a formal court proceeding.