Plot Synopsis

Created by Judge Judy Sheindlin, HOT BENCH is a syndicated series (check local listings) that features three judges -- Judge Patricia DiMango and attorneys Tanya Acker and Larry Bakman -- who hear court cases, argue the merits of the cases amongst themselves, and then render verdicts. DiMango, a New York State Supreme Court Judge in Brooklyn, graduated from St. John's University School of Law. Acker, a graduate of Yale Law School, is a Los Angeles-based practicing attorney. Bakman, a graduate of Southwestern Law School, is a member of the State Bar in California and New York. In each 30-minute episode, the judges hear one or two cases, including: the custody of a service dog, whose ownership is contested between its emotional owner and a couple who grew close to it during a time of grief; an uninsured motorist involved in a crash, who insists that he was on his way home to pay for his lapsed car insurance; a woman who sues her former friend for faulty home renovations; an ex-lover who sues a firefighter for repayment of a loan he insists was a gift; and many more complaints and disputes. The term 'hot bench' is used to describe a court where the judge frequently interrupts lawyers' presentations with questions, often leading to lively exchanges.
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Season 2 of HOT BENCH premiered on Monday, September 14, 2015 (check local listings for time and channel). In the new season, in addition to the courtroom proceedings, cameras follow the judges into chambers for the first time, where they hash out the facts and majority rules. In the season opener, "Drunk Teacher or Honest Preacher," a dramatic young man accused of drinking, driving and totaling a car claims he was never told the truth about the death trap of a car he was in.