''Night Court U.S.A.'' is a
dramatized court show that aired weekly on
KTLA in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, beginning April 18, 1958. The ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corpora ...
'' listing for the seminal session explained: "This half hour program makes use of both
character actors and people off the street to portray those brought into night court." The show eventually switched to using scripted cases, and was extended to an hour.
The subject matter of the cases was often whimsical. An example from season 2 was that of a drunk
woman
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...
who passed out in a park. She claimed that she was merely
bird watching
Birdwatching, or birding, is the observing of birds, either as a recreational activity or as a form of citizen science. A birdwatcher may observe by using their naked eye, by using a visual enhancement device like binoculars or a telescope, by ...
. Most defendants entered a plea of guilty "but with an explanation" and then proceeded to throw themselves on the mercy of the court with the unfortunate circumstances leading to their
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
. The judge was played by veteran
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
Jay Jostyn
Jay Jostyn (December 13, 1901 – June 25, 1976) was an actor in the era of old-time radio. He is best known for portraying the title role in ''Mr. District Attorney'' on radio.DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical D ...
.
[ ]
References
External links
''Night Court, USA'': More Fiction Than Reality* {{IMDb title, 0288384
1958 American television series debuts
1961 American television series endings
Dramatized court shows