AllMovie

Though she rode in with the wave of courtroom-themed reality series that bowed during the late '90s and early 2000s, Judge Glenda Hatchett (star of the syndicated Judge Hatchett) quickly distinguished herself from her television competitors. She did so by evincing a heightened level of attention to social causes that involve youngsters, through her courtroom actions and case selection -- causes such as juvenile delinquency and broken families. A graduate of Emory University School of Law, Hatchett spent nearly a decade in the public relations and legal departments at Delta Airlines, then left the corporate world to take a position as the preeminent judge at Fulton County Juvenile Court in northwest Georgia, meanwhile receiving an appointment as national spokeswoman for the Court Appointed Special Advocate Association for Abused and Neglected Children. Hatchett's stellar work in Fulton County -- and her glowing public image -- prompted Sony Pictures Television to create a court series for her, in which she litigates family, juvenile, and small-claims cases. The program began its run in 2000.