Judge seeks solutions, not punishment

NEW YORK -- One big difference about "Judge Hatchett" isn't obvious to viewers.

But attend a taping. There you find that, unlike other courtroom shows, which move with a briskness that requires only minimal editing for broadcast, Judge Glenda A. Hatchett won't be rushed.

"I have to be sure everybody is crystal-clear about why we're here today," she tells the disputing parties of a negligence case: Should the defendant have to pay for the injury the plaintiffs' dog sustained while in his care?

It's a minor case, but she doesn't treat it that way. Before she reaches a decision, 40 minutes have passed. Viewers will see it trimmed to five.

Doesn't this deliberative pace mean lots of pricey production time?

"I don't care," says Hatchett. "We've got to do what I would do if it WEREN'T on TV."

Juvenile court justice

Now starting her second season in syndication, Hatchett has brought to her TV-studio courtroom the same direct, solution-seeking style for which she was renowned in Atlanta as a juvenile court justice.

She had grown up across town in a loving household where her parents assured her anything was possible -- but only with hard work and dedication.

She earned her law degree from Emory University, then went to Delta Airlines, first as a corporate lawyer, then as company spokeswoman before becoming a judge of Fulton County (Ga.) Juvenile Court in 1990.

A single mother, Hatchett stepped down as chief presiding judge in May 1999 to be at home with her two teen-age boys. Then the offer of a TV show came her way.

"I believe in divine order," says Hatchett, explaining that with providential timing she had helped care for her godmother following surgery. "For about two weeks when she was in the hospital, I was sitting there watching TV with her." Including the numerous courtroom shows.

During her crash course, Hatchett didn't much like what she saw. She almost turned the offer down.

"Then I figured I would be upfront with them: 'This is what I'm prepared to do. Otherwise, you guys ought to get somebody else.'"

The key to "Judge Hatchett" is its "creative sentencing," which takes the defendant (and the viewer) beyond the courtroom for real-life lessons.

'They're seeking help'

A youngster who likes to set fires visits a young burn patient. Someone nailed for drunken driving is assigned to witness car-crash victims at a hospital emergency room.

Asked why people choose to come before her, Hatchett says: "They're seeking help. With a lot of the family issues, people who come here have tried other things and they haven't worked."

After lunch, Hatchett will be hearing from an anxious mother and her 13-year-old son, who built a bomb and blew up a computer at his school.

The boy had appeared in Hatchett's courtroom days before, whereupon she dispatched him for a cautionary tour.

"So what do you want for YOUR life?" the judge demands. "Talk to me!"