Hot Bench

Hot Bench is an American nontraditional panel-based court show that debuted in first-run syndication on September 15, 2014. The series was conceptualized and produced for CBS Media Ventures by Judith Sheindlin of Judge Judy fame, alongside executive producers Randy Douthit, Maureen FitzPatrick, David Theodosopoulos, and co-executive producer James Glover.

Hot Bench
Genre	Nontraditional arbitration-based reality court show
Created by	Judge Judy Sheindlin
Directed by	Karen J. Beck
Presented by	Sonia Montejano Gina Findley
Judges	Tanya Acker Larry Bakman Patricia DiMango Michael Corriero Rachel Juarez Yodit Tewolde Daniel Mentzer
Narrated by	Rino Romano Christopher Thomas Daniel Mentzer
Theme music composer	Michael Egizi
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	12
No. of episodes	2,000
Production
Executive producers	Randy Douthit Maureen Fitzpatrick James Glover David Theodosopoulus
Production locations	Stamford Studios Stamford, Connecticut
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Production companies	Big Ticket Television Queen Bee Productions
Original release
Network	Syndication
Release	September 15, 2014 (2014-09-15) – present

As of the show's twelfth season, which premiered in September 2025, Hot Bench is presided over by Rachel Juarez, a former prosecutor originally from Los Angeles; Yodit Tewolde, a municipal judge and criminal defense attorney from Dallas; and Daniel Mentzer, a California native who rose to prominence as a criminal defense attorney in New York. Gina Findley, a former New York Police Department detective, is the bailiff.

Hot Bench emanates from Stamford Studios in Stamford, Connecticut; production relocated there from Sunset Bronson Studios in Los Angeles after the 2024–25 season.

Format

The series features a panel of three judges. The panel acts as an arbitral tribunal, and as with most televised court shows, the cases are a form of binding arbitration in which the litigants forgo their actual lawsuit in favor of appearing on the program.

Personnel

Personnel	Role	Seasons
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Tanya Acker	Judge, co-host	Main
Larry Bakman	Judge, co-host	Main
Patricia DiMango	Judge, co-host	Main
Michael Corriero	Judge, co-host			Main
Rachel Juarez	Judge, co-host									Main
Yodit Tewolde	Judge, co-host									Main
Sonia Montejano	Bailiff	Recurring
Daniel Mentzer	Judge, co-host												Main
Gina Findley	Bailiff												Recurring

Background and production

Development

The concept was inspired by Judy's vacation to Ireland, a country which occasionally uses panels of three judges to handle one case: "When my husband Jerry and I were in Ireland recently, we visited the courts and watched a three-judge bench, which I found both fascinating and compelling." She added, "I immediately thought what a terrific and unique idea for a television program that brings the court genre to the next level. We have assembled three individuals with extremely varied backgrounds to serve as the judges. They are smart and talented, with terrific instincts and great chemistry, and are sure to create a 'hot bench'."^[1] On April 26, 2024, Hot Bench has been renewed for its eleventh and twelfth seasons through 2025–2026 season.^[2]

Casting

The current panel consists of Rachel Juarez, Yodit Tewolde, and Daniel Mentzer who preside over small-claims cases and then argue the merits of the case amongst themselves in the chamber room before rendering a verdict (under the format, only a majority—two of the three-panel members—need to agree on the verdict).

During the first two seasons, the panel consisted of attorneys Tanya Acker and Larry Bakman, along with former Brooklyn New York Supreme Court judge Patricia DiMango.^[3]

In the beginning of the third season, Bakman announced that he was leaving Hot Bench to focus on his law practice. Michael Corriero was named Bakman's successor. Bakman's final episodes originally aired on October 28, 2016, and Corriero's first episode was scheduled to originally air on November 1, 2016, with series creator Judge Judy Sheindlin and her husband, former The People's Court judge Jerry Sheindlin, serving as guest judges on the Halloween 2016 original broadcasts.^[4]

In 2022, DiMango and Acker were replaced on the show by Juarez and Tewolde, while Corriero assumed the chief judge position.

In January 2025, Corriero announced he would leave the panel following the conclusion of the series' eleventh season.^[5] Two months later, trial attorney Daniel Mentzer was named as Corriero's replacement.

The bailiff for the first 11 years was Sonia Montejano, who previously served as the bailiff for Judge Joe Brown from 2006 to 2013. After the show's relocation to Connecticut; Retired New York City Police Department Chaplains Unit detective Gina Findley was named as her successor.^[6]

Release

On December 11, 2014, Hot Bench was renewed for a second season.^[7] The show airs in the UK on TruTV, and in Canada on Yes TV and in syndication. The show has produced 1,535 episodes as of September 8, 2022. As of January 27, 2025, same-day airings air on Dabl.

Accolades

Hot Bench has been nominated for three Daytime Emmy Awards.

Association	Year[a]	Category	Nominee(s) / Work	Result	Ref(s)
Daytime Emmy Awards	2017	Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program	Randy Douthit, Maureen FitzPatrick, Amy Freisleben, Angela Ford, Jocelyn Jackson, Emily Michele, Arthur Thompkins, Kirk Leins, Christopher Thomas, Tanya Acker, Michael Corriero, Patricia DiMango, and James Glover	Nominated	[8]
	2020	Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program	David Theodosopoulus, Amy Freisleben, Belinda Jackson, James Glover, Debbie Alpert, Sylvia Fierro, Jeffrey Pitts, Arthur Thompkins, Gina Yates, Kirk Leins, Christopher Thomas, Tanya Acker, Michael Corriero, Particia DiMango, and Sonia Montejano	Nominated	[9]
	2023	Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program	David Theodosopoulos, James Glover, Belinda Jackson, Debbie Alpert, Sylvia Fierro, Karen J. Beck, Chris Thomas, Jennifer Chandler, Jeff Pitts, DeLeesa Rouse, Destiny Sirivong, Lois Yaffee, Gina Yates, Tanya Acker, Michael Corriero, Patricia M. Di Mango, Rachel Juarez, Yodit Tewoldeand and Sonia Montejano	Nominated	[10]

Notes

1. Indicates the year of ceremony. Each year is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.