Judge Joseph Wapner, the frequently testy judge of The People’s Court, has died at age 97. A trial judge for 20 years in California, after his retirement he became the first television judge. Unlike many of the “judges” who followed him, Wapner based his rulings on sound legal principles. He also had a real judge’s usual testiness with ill prepared litigants. Married for 70 years to his wife, he was an Army combat veteran of the Pacific in World War II where he served as a Lieutenant and earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. May the Great Judge give him a merciful ruling.
