"Well, not staged in strict terms.
Two things: it's not a court. It's a binding arbitration where the arbitrator is funded by the sale of television advertisements rather than arbitration fees because the binding arbitration will be televised. Second, the parties aren't actually paying anything. Instead, they are being paid as amateur actors for a television appearance. Usually this is 5000$. Therefore, let us suppose the winner is awarded 3000$. All this means is that the “loser” has their television appearance fee garnished to pay the “winner”, both parties having signed a contract that this is a thing and their real actual cases will be subject to an agreed order in the real court dismissing the real case with prejudice, having elected to resolve the dispute in binding arbitration.
Again focusing on the original question-is it staged? In as much as the process I just described couldn't be any further from a Court, it's not staged, as I said, per se. But it's also not a court case, it's not a court, and follows zero things that are not at all trivial in a real court. Things like evidentiary rules, rules of civil procedure, examination and cross, re-cross, etc- when did you ever see a litigant or attorney take an examination during the “Court” (using the word very loosely) of Judge Judy? Exactly never. The arbitrator-Judy-asks all the questions. In my real actual custody case for example, it was an all day trial. I was on the stand for hours. My ex about half as much time. At the end, the judge has two questions. TWO. That's a court.
Additionally, Judith Sheindlin IS, if I am not mistaken, a retired actual judge. However, if she acted like that in her actual career in an actual courtroom, she wouldn't be retired, she'd have been disbarred years ago. That and overturned on appeal like literally 92% of the time.
So staged? No. But know what you're watching: A made for TV binding arbitration with evidentiary rules, testimonial rules, and literally every operational aspect decided by the producers and MAYBE the networks attorneys, but importantly agreed to as a way to resolve a real dispute by two parties NOT AS a court, but in lieu of one.
So if by staged,I take you to mean are outcomes predetermined, is it scripted? No I do not believe so at all, principally because totally untalented actors could never be that entertaining if following a memorized script. But it's definitely not a court and no real life Judge hearing real cases is demeaning and lecturing litigants and having emotional outbursts every 43 seconds, screaming at, interrupting, and teaching life lessons that have ZERO to do with law to citizens before a real court.
If there is or ever was a judge acting like the TV judge Judy, 50 different lawyers in the judicial circuit have filed an ethics complaint with the state bar because they feel duty bound out of respect for the profession to have a judge removed who is so prejudicial to one litigant or the other and so unprofessional in flying off the handle every 45 seconds. That's great TV but I would not believe she was like that as an actual Judge."
