
Many popular court shows are on TV. How can the genre improve? How about using a three-judge panel? That's the concept of "Hot Bench," created by Judge Judy Sheindlin. After hearing each case, the judges discuss it among themselves before rendering a verdict. The show's title comes from a term describing a court action in which a judge frequently interrupts lawyers with questions.

A buyer says she was sold a minivan with a dying transmission; the seller argues that it ran fine, and that's the risk of buying a used vehicle.

Many popular court shows are on TV. How can the genre improve? How about using a three-judge panel? That's the concept of "Hot Bench," created by Judge Judy Sheindlin. After hearing each case, the judges discuss it among themselves before rendering a verdict. The show's title comes from a term describing a court action in which a judge frequently interrupts lawyers with questions.

The plaintiff has photos of his car damage and another driver's admission of fault, and thinks that should be enough to win his court case, but he went to a back-alley repair shop and has no receipts. Can he prevail without this key information?

A car owner blames his mechanic for major damage to his transmission, but the mechanic says it was his racing that ruined it; the owner denies racing the car but admits to throwing a violent fit in the shop.