The series chronicled family court cases heard by Judge Robert J. Franklin, played by Bob Shield.
Each episode normally began with a pre-hearing cold open, usually featuring with one or both of the parties discussing the upcoming trial either inside or just outside the courtroom.
As an elected judge in the family court, I pray each day that God will give me the wisdom to always temper justice with mercy.
The episode proper would then begin with Franklin entering the courtroom while an off-screen narrator explains: "What you are about to see is a dramatization of an actual case in family court.
"Like the aforementioned courtroom dramas, episodes of The Judge involved shock value: cases that began as mundane or routine often ended up taking a serious or unexpected turn.