Verdict Is in on 'Judging Amy'

The Connecticut Law Tribune - October 20, 1999

By Paul Frisman

So how do judges judge "Judging Amy"?

Several judges interviewed last week say they like the new television show, which stars Glastonbury native Amy Brenneman as a divorced New York lawyer who starts over again in Connecticut as a Superior Court judge.

The judges’ appreciation of "Judging Amy" could indicate true critical acumen. On the other hand, it may reveal a fondness for the star’s mother, Superior Court Judge Trial Referee Frederica S. Brenneman.

Several judges say they haven’t had a chance to catch the show, which airs at 10 p.m. on Tuesdays. But Judge Christine E. Keller, chief administrative judge for juvenile matters, is a fan.

"I like it," she says. "I like it because I think it’s starting to more realistically present the tensions and pressures of what we do."

Keller does have some minor criticisms. "On her first day she was little bit less well prepared than our judges would have been," she says.

She also notes that Judge Amy "sat for three days before they actually swore her in."

And Keller says it’s not likely that a lawyer who has practiced in New York for 10 years would be tapped for a Connecticut judgeship "without a Connecticut track record."

But Keller says her chief regret about the show, which is set in Hartford, is the lack of any Hartford scenes. No Broad Street, no Bushnell Park, not even I-84. The show is shot in California, where Connecticut apparently conjures up only images of perpetually orange leaves.

"I’m recognizing maybe Avon," Keller says. "I’m not recognizing Hartford."

Judge Angela C. Robinson, sitting in Meriden, hasn’t had a chance to see "Judging Amy" yet, although she’d like to. "She has my demographics," Robinson notes cheerily. "She’s 35, she’s not married, she’s a judge. Other than race, we could be twins."

"Someone I know watched it," she adds. "They said they hoped court wasn’t like that."

Judge Patricia L. Harleston, sitting in Juvenile Court in Rockville, appeared before the real Judge Brenneman for years as an assistant attorney general. "Judge Brenneman was my mentor," she says.

Harleston says she likes the show, although, like the other judges, she finds it more exciting than real life.

"It’s television. It’s supposed to be entertaining," she says. "If it were exactly like this, I wouldn’t watch it."


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