[0:00] I’m Kevin, and I’m Steph, and during our marriage, we’ve dealt with an electrocution, a brain tumor, brain surgery, then doctors telling us the children were not

[0:08] in our future, followed by miscarriage, and then Kevin’s cancer diagnosis. However, today we live a life completely healed, completely restored with three healthy children who doctors said were not possible. And we’re here to tell stories that inspire, give hope, and brighten your day. Welcome to Tell Us a Good Story.

[0:27] Okay, friends, before we get to this episode, just a friendly reminder to please hit the subscribe button on YouTube and Apple Podcasts or give us a review. Five stars, please. In our world, this is super, super important because it will help with the algorithm to make it easier for people to find us. And thank you for sharing our posts across your social media. That really helps with engagement and with us getting guests. Yes. So, hey, if you want us to keep working our way up to talking to Chip and Joanna, please share us with your friends. But regardless, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[1:01] All right, Steph, are you ready for this? This is gonna be so much freaking

[1:04] fun. I am so excited about this conversation right now. I am too. Well, friends, our next guest has over 25 years of legal experience, serving as one of three judges on Prime Video’s Tribunal Justice. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to Tell Us a Good Story, Judge Adam Levy. Judge Adam Levy. Oh, thank you very much, guys. I’m so glad to be here. Oh, thank you for joining us. And okay, first thing I want to ask you, I have watched, Judge Levy, probably four episodes of your show, okay? The first thing that I noticed was, if this man has children, nothing is going to get past him, right? Like, I don’t know if you have teenagers, I don’t have kids, but like, nothing is getting past this guy. So how do you know when someone’s lying, right? And like, in our situation, We now have a teenage daughter who just turned 13. How do you know when a teenager is lying? Well, I have three. My wife and I have three kids. Now they’re grown, 27, 25, and 20. But I will tell you and share that you know when your teenagers are lying, when their mouth moves. For the most part, I think that that is a generalization you can make with all kids.

[2:14] Listen, it’s just a matter of having good street smarts. Yeah. And you’re paying attention to what people say, paying attention to what people don’t say.

[2:23] And if you give someone enough rope, they will eventually hang themselves if they are liars and manipulators. Yes. Yes. Yeah. That’s, that’s, I was born and raised in the city, in New York city, and you had to get a street smart pretty quick where you get gobbled up. So I look back at those, at those days and I, uh, I’m very happy now that I was there to learn the skills that I did at the time. It was a little rough, but, uh, it all worked out fine. Okay. Do you have a story of you being a judge in a courtroom and this person’s on the stand or they’re having a debate and you’re like, they’re lying. I know they’re lying. Do you have any stories like that that you can think of? Just about every single episode. Really? Really? Yeah. Yeah.

[3:08] Maybe it’s not just an outright lie, but it could be just a little white lie. It could be just an exaggeration or a manipulation of a fact or two. Listen, our show is different. Our show is different than every other court show that has been on in the past and that is currently on, either streaming or in broadcast, because I insisted when I started to get the evidence that the litigants have in their possession that they claim supports their cause of action as the plaintiff or their defense as the defendant. And by looking at that evidence beforehand, so I’m not rushed on the bench to look at something and to skim it over. So I do take my time beforehand so that when they come in and they give me whatever their truth is.

[4:02] I know from looking at either their own evidence that they may not be so sure about, or even the other party’s evidence, information that will either contradict or corroborate those claims. I did litigation for 25 years, and that’s how you make sure that as close as you can, that you get the right decision in the end. Right. Steph, there’s so many times where Judge Levy is like, hey, are you sure you want to keep to that story? because you’re saying you bought this car on the 23rd, but the insurance company said you were an accident on it. I’m like, oh my gosh, we’re going to use that on our kids. Are you sure you want to say this story? Yes, I like that. Like how much research are you doing or how much going through? Yes, prep work are you doing for these shows? If you ask my kids, they will say, if neurotic is the highest level.

[4:53] I’m neurotic plus. Really? I am, I am. I really want to make sure that we get the decision right. That is so important to me because, again, as a litigator for 25 years, I’ve represented clients and despite my best efforts, and again, I don’t want to crap all over judges because I’ve been in front of so many terrific ones, but there are so many mediocre or worse that are out there, lazy, stupid, corrupt. You name it. I’ve seen the gamut and I see the damage that judges have done to my clients in the past. And I promised myself that if I ever got to the stage where I’d be a judge myself, I would never, ever make the same mistakes or engage in the same misconduct that those judges had because I wanted to make sure that for the litigants that they feel when they walk out of our courtroom, that they got a fair shake and that the right thing happened. You may not like my tone. You may not like the way that I extract the information.

[6:02] But in the end, I am confident and I believe the viewers are confident that the right thing happened and we’re not shooting from the hip. Yeah. Okay. Speaking of your tone. I knew you were going to say this. One of the episodes I was watching, this dude broke down crying over his ex-girlfriend or his ex-wife. He turns around and you’re just like, dude, like get your crap together. Like you’re embarrassing yourself. And I remember I busted out laughing. Okay. Have you had any other situations where you have made somebody cry while you’re on the stand or in the case? Because that was so funny. You know, I don’t like to say that I make them cry. I will say that if they feel overwhelmed at being caught at lying. Right, right. Which to me is completely fair. I am not the kind of judge that just gratuitously bashes you. Not a chance. if I’m coming at you and coming at you hard, it’s because either you’re not telling me something that’s the truth or you’re trying to manipulate or create a false narrative. I don’t like it when people try to create a false narrative.

[7:10] You just give me the truth and I’m going to figure I’ll take that information. I’ll take the law, push them together and we’ll get to the right decision. So if you’re getting all worked up and getting emotional because I’m not letting you create a false narrative, as I say to my kids, that’s a you problem, not a me problem. So you.

[7:30] That is so my husband, Judge. Oh my gosh. Yes.

[7:37] Okay. I have a question. Are there any times that you have been in a court case and you’re listening to these people talk and you’re just like, why did this have to come to court? Bickering over something so small? Yes. You know, the answer is no. Really? The smaller, listen, I just watched one today. I watch all the episodes, by the way. Okay. Some of them are tough for me to watch because I’m just like, well, you know, maybe the tone was a little tough, but I saw one today that was like $290. That’s what they’re suing over. No. It doesn’t make a difference. Again, litigants, when they come on the show, they are not coming on the show really so much for a dollar amount as they are for justice, as they are for vindication, because they’re committed to their cause. They feel wronged. A plaintiff feels wronged over what a defendant did. A defendant feels wronged for being accused of wrongdoing that he or she did not do. They’re committed to that cause. The amount doesn’t matter. It’s when you get the emotions, because I have also been a litigant in a small claims case, in a civil rights case, in defamation cases, all of which, by the way, I’ve done extremely well on.

[8:57] Thank goodness. I had good judges, good lawyers, and I handled a bunch of them by myself. But the point is when you’re committed to that cause, that’s what number one makes for a great litigant for a great show like ours. And so the amount makes no difference.

[9:14] Okay. You brought up so many great points, but I have a question. Say you and your wife are going on a double date or you’re going on vacation with your friends. Is there ever a time where the husband and wife are like, all right, Judge Levy, I need you to say who’s right in this situation. And a husband and wife just like share their story. We would totally do that. We totally, I’m thinking that right now. Okay. We’re going to have a conversation. Call up Judge Levy. Let Judge Levy decide this.

[9:41] I’m really good at playing devil’s advocate. I’m a super good listener, and I’m a super good solver. OK. What I’m not super good at is knowing which one I’m supposed to be. So I tell my wife, am I supposed to be listening, or am I supposed to be solving? Fair. And I’m getting much better at that point. But for the most, listen, for the most part, I’ll listen to both sides. And it has happened. Unfortunately, I’m married, my wife and I, almost 30 years. It’ll be 30 years this October. Congratulations. 30 years, we’ve had friends, you know, who haven’t made it quite as long as we have. Uh-huh. And, you know, and I will often get a phone call from either the husband or the wife. And they’re friends of ours. And can you believe what he did? Can you believe what he did? And I will say to them, listen, if you just want a friend kind of to bounce ideas off of, I’m here for you. I’m here for both of you. Yeah. But I’m not giving strategic advice.

[10:38] I know how it’s going to end, and it’s going to end with me on the wrong side of the stick. For sure. So listen, at the end of the day, especially in matrimonials, I’m going to tell you how it’s going to resolve itself. Better to keep the money in your own pocket than it is to give it to your lawyers. For sure. Right? And there was a story. My whole family went, my brothers, sisters, their kids went to Puerto Rico for a holiday and I was in private practice. So I wasn’t able to take the full week off. I think I snuck out on a Friday morning. I got down there and I was leaving with everyone the following week on Sunday. So I was just going for the weekend and they had already been there for a week. Well, when they were down there, they lost power. They had no toilets.

[11:21] It was a disaster. and I’m hearing about it. I’m getting, you know, text about this and I’m up working and I’m saying, well, you know, it’s probably better I’m not there. My white stuff is covered. That’s a you problem.

[11:35] At that point, it was, I’m handling things back at the ranch. You guys are handling things. But when I got down there, they were so frustrated. And by the way, the day I showed up Friday, it was like the skies opened, sunshine. Beautiful. I mean, the rain stopped, the toilet started working again. And I show up, I’m like, wow, this isn’t so bad at all. They are out of their minds. That’s it, Adam. We’re waiting for you. You got to go to the manager and we want to get a refund and we demand it. We want justice. And I’m like, guys, I’ve just fought all week doing stuff like this. So I’m like, fine, finally. I’m like, fine. Let me go speak to the manager. I go to the manager and, I got my brother-in-law and my stepbrother behind me, and they’re just like, hands on their hips, and they’re just waiting for me to give a tongue-lashing. I say to the manager, I’m like, listen, I know you had some problems. Is there something that you can do to make this right for my family? They’ve explained the real problems that have occurred. He’s like, sure. How about like two free nights? And I just said, perfect. And I just cut it right there. And I turned around, and my brother-in-law was like, what was that? What was that? That’s the best you can do? big, oh, big Mr. Negotiator. That’s the best you can do. I was like, guys, I just fight all the time with people. I don’t want to fight on vacation. So anyway, that’s my life. That’s all you get? And some coupons to the bar, right? That was like a free buffet. Sounds good to me.

[12:59] All right, friends, we want to hear from you. Every fifth episode has been us telling our own stories, but now we want to share some of your stories. That’s right, you guys. If you have a fun story you would like to share, please send it to us. You can email us, DM us, or even leave us a voicemail. And I will share our contact information, including a phone number in the show notes. If you call us, just leave us a voicemail and I will transcribe it and read it on one of our upcoming episodes. And don’t worry if you’re not a master storyteller. That’s okay. We want to share your stories and then you will hear us comment on them. I promise you, this will be so much fun. Oh my gosh, you guys, so much fun. You guys, thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[13:40] You talked earlier about the immaterial, the small amounts that people fight over. I remember seeing video clips of the people’s court and they’re fighting over $45 or something, but it’s like a husband and wife and the husband wants to prove he is right.

[13:57] So what’s one of the more crazier cases, I guess, that you’ve presided over that had some just wild scenarios that you can share without telling names? Sure. We had one in season one. It was probably one of my favorite cases. It was in the beginning. It was a double.

[14:15] So it took up two episodes. It was a plaintiff, woman in her 20s, that was suing the defendant who owned a place where you go to get your dogs groomed. It was a grooming shop for dogs and boarding. And she’s suing for $10,000 for emotional distress and false arrest. Because she alleged that the defendant, business owner, groomer, kept her dog, would not return her dog that she had left there for months, by the way. And when she came back to collect the dog, the guy was like, listen, we charge $25 a night to board. You’ve left this dog for like three months. This is how much you owe. And the plaintiff said, I’m not paying that much and whatever, went to get her boyfriend. They went down to the shop. They had a scuffle in which a gun was displayed. Police were called and police gave chase to the defendant and her boyfriend in the car who are now off premises we don’t have any of the any of the police a body cam video but we have police reports that confirm they were both arrested for menacing for possession of a gun for this that the other thing, And now this plaintiff who was in the car, who was a participant and a co-conspirator in this robbery, because they want to go take the dog back without paying, she’s suing the store owner for 10 grand.

[15:42] And it was one of my favorite cases because it was a California venue case.

[15:47] And listen, I’m a law and order DA. If you deserve a break, you got to get a break. It doesn’t make a difference who you are, who your lawyer is, how much money you have or what political party you belong to. If you deserve a break, you’re going to get a break. But if you lean to the side of violence and hurting other people, I have absolutely no patience and I will make it my business. And I did as DA to send the message that I do care about that stuff. And I am going to take a personal interest in torturing you and making sure at the end of the day, you know, that if you’re going to engage in that kind of business, don’t do it in my county. So that’s who I am. And I had all the evidence, obviously, beforehand. Yeah. And I remember going through the case and getting all the evidence out. We had a video of the actual going into the shop. We had a video of the boyfriend holding what appeared to be a gun by his waistband in a menacing manner. The cops found the gun outside of the car when it was stopped. I mean, it was an open and shut case. And like any other case that I deal with these moron DAs who think they want to be more friendly with the defendants than they are with the victims of crimes, I love taking my shots at those moron DAs and saying, if you want to be best buddies with the criminal defendants and ignore the complainant and the complainant’s rights and what they went through, become a defense attorney.

[17:14] DAs need to take those cases seriously. And when I don’t see that they do, I love taking my shots. And I did in that case. And I do that a lot. Stopped. Like his tone right now? Oh, I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m like, whatever you say, Judge Levy.

[17:32] Don’t get me scared. I’m really not that bad. Tell us how you really feel. Yeah. I’m telling you, that’s how I really feel. I don’t know what it is. You know, people, I know I have a good sense of humor. I know that most things roll, I say water off a duck’s back most of the time. But when it comes to like the criminal justice system or just court stuff in general, I really am so passionate about the right thing happening and about people getting their day. And so I do get a little spicy.

[18:06] All right, Judge Levy. So for all of our guests, I like to give a list of fun facts to let listeners know what you’ve done, what you’ve accomplished. And Steph is only aware of this first fun fact. The rest, you’re going to see her genuine reaction. Yep. And this should lead to some fun stories here. All right. Ready, Steph? Yes. Fun fact number one. Okay. Judge Levy, his mother. Can I say it? Yes. Judge Judy! It’s Judge Judy. Yes. So, so many questions from that, right? Yeah. One, how old were you when your mother became Judge Judy? Did things immediately change for your family in regards to now people notice this on the street or going to dinner? Did anything change for you? Or were you an adult at the time? You know, I say I was an adult. I was already a prosecutor. I was already a young assistant DA in Suffolk County on Long Island in New York.

[18:54] So she became really Judge Judy in 1996. But she had already been on 60 Minutes. There was already some news about her in a LA Times piece. But it wasn’t until probably 1997, 1998 that things started changing and she started getting more recognized. And by that time, I was out of the DA’s office. I was into private practice. Okay. And so it really didn’t affect me much because our last names are different. Right. And so a lot of courts, a lot of judges didn’t know what the connection was. Some did. And that was either a good thing or a bad thing. Again, the good judges typically appreciated who she was because she was a good judge. Right. Tough, but fair and demanding, clearly demanding, but good judges like that. Yeah. Judges that I ran into problems with when they found out that there was a relationship, they would take shots at me. Oh, no. In a way to sort of make themselves feel better about themselves, that I could do this to Judge Judy’s kit.

[20:06] I had zero patience for those judges. Yeah. My wife always had bail money squirreled away in the house. Because, you know, you could be tough on me as a judge if you think I’ve done something wrong, if I’m not prepared, but I’m never not prepared. Yeah. I’m always prepared. But if you are just going to be a bully for the sake of being a bully, I’m not afraid of that look judge. I’ve had judges before giving me those scowled looks from the bench, I’m going to berate you with my look. And I would say, judge, listen, don’t give me that look. When I was growing up in my house, that was like a good morning look.

[20:44] That’s how my mom used to wake me up. That was the look on her face when she woke me up in the morning. I’m not intimidated by that. Go use that on somebody else. I’ve had judges say, Adam, what do you think your mother would say if she heard you say that about me? I would say, well, my mother would say, not to me, but to you, why don’t you know the facts? Why don’t you read the motions? That’s what she would say, Judge, she’s not going to say, I’ve done something wrong. She’s going to say it’s unfortunate, Adam, that you’re being threatened by someone who feels threatened by you. That’s what she would say. And so good or bad, never had to use the bail money, but it came close.

[21:21] All right. Next fun fact. Judge Levy, as he mentioned, is part of a legacy of attorneys. His mom, dad, stepfather, and I believe his siblings as well. And stepmother. And stepmother, all attorneys. Can you imagine holidays at their house? What about the family meal? Like, you better know your crap when you speak up at the Thanksgiving dinner. Can you imagine being the kid or the grandkid sitting at that table? You’re not going to get around or get away from anything. Can you share this story of, I believe you didn’t want to be an attorney or something where you wanted to be maybe a ski instructor or something. Can you share that story, please? Yeah. So it was after college.

[22:01] I went to a state university in New York. we all did, all my brothers and sisters, that after college, I said, you know what? I know I’m going to law school, but I think I’d like to take a year off first. She said, absolutely not. My mom said, absolutely not. If you take off for a year, I’ll never get your back. So I went right into law school, went straight through law school. And after law school, I had my applications in for DA’s offices in New York, all over the country. And so I was waiting to hear back from Manhattan and the Suffolk DA’s office, I already had a bunch already lined up, including the Bronx had already offered me a spot. And I’d rather not work in the Bronx. I grew up in the Bronx and I just, I wanted to kind of get out of that area. So I was waiting for Manhattan or for Suffolk where I had interned. And so it was right, it was right after finals, third year of law school, but right before I started studying for the bar. And so my brother and I, who was in med school at the time. He’s the one we, you know, we, we call him the disappointment in the family.

[23:04] So we took the easy way out and went to med school. So he and I are out in Snowbird, Utah. We fly in, it was in May. It was a beautiful blue sky day, get off the plane. And there’s the Wasatch mountain range that you see from, from Salt Lake city airport. And I was like, I don’t want to get a job right away. So on the, I picked up the phone and back in the day, you know, there were pay phones, right? So I call up the Bronx and I respectfully declined their offer and now I got nothing. So, on the way to our hotel, I stop off in ski school. I put my application in as a ski instructor. And my brother’s telling me, Adam, not a good idea. It’s not a good idea. I’m like, Johnny, what am I going to say? I’m a grown-ass man. Give me a break. Whatever. It’s fine. Well, we got into our hotel room. And you know what? Back in the day when we had the phones and they had a red light on the phone, they had a message. It would blink. My phone was blowing up red, red, red. It was like a fire thing going around. So it turned out that the hiring coordinator had contacted my mother and said, oh, I’m so sorry that Adam isn’t going to be accepted. This is on the way, right, from me, from the airport to the hotel. And now my phone’s blowing up and it was my mother who said, call me. That was it. That was the message. So I called her and she went nuts.

[24:22] You’re not getting a job as a ski eye. This is absolutely outrageous. And I was like, what are you talking about? I said, listen, it’s one season. If I get Manhattan, if I get Suffolk, I’m going to take those. I’ll take either one. At that point, I felt a little big in my britches. And I said, that’s what I’m doing. Fine, she hangs up the phone. Well, now I get offered the spot from the Suffolk DA’s office. And they leave a message on the answering machine at her home where I was staying with her at the time to study for the bar. And she got that message before I did. And so when I came home on Saturday, she had gotten that message on Friday and said, oh, Adam, you got a phone message from the Suffolk County hiring coordinator. They’re offering you the job. And I said, oh, great. I’ll call him back on Monday. And she says, well, you don’t have to call him back right away. I already called him back and told him you’d be accepting the job. True story. 100% true. I called on Monday and the guy’s like, uh, Adam, yeah, well, I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve offered jobs to lots of young prosecutors like yourself, but I’ve never had someone’s mother call up. And he didn’t know that she was a judge. She wasn’t Judge Judy. Oh really? Family court judge. Right. Oh yeah. And I was like, yeah, well, she, she could be, she could be a lot. It sounds like it. And then only later, years later, did they find out that she was a judge. Right. She was actually Judge Judy, but that was a fun story. That was a good time.

[25:50] If you like what you hear, please tell someone about us. As soon as this episode is over, go tell your spouse, your closest friend, a parent, a co-worker, or share one of our posts on social media. However, if you don’t like what you’re hearing, please do not. Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell anyone. Don’t tell anybody. Just disregard this message.

[26:07] Don’t worry about it. Forget about us. Yep. Go on with your merry day. And to get more information about us or our entire catalog of episodes, be sure to check us out at KevinAndSteph.com. Thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.

[26:20] Okay, I have a lot more fun facts, but due to time, we’re going to wrap this up. Okay, sounds good. Judge Levy, we could talk to you for hours. Forever. This is so much fun. Yes. Okay, final fun fact. Judge Levy now serves as one of the three judges on Prime Video’s Tribunal Justice, which was created by his mother, Judge Judy Scheindlin. So I’ve never seen this format before, Judge Levy, where there’s three judges, not just one, right? So it’s like you kind of beat up on them a little bit, and then you throw it over to the next judge. What’s the advantage of, I guess, of having three judges versus one in this type of format? People get to see that not everything is black and white. And you see us interact with the litigants, but you see the deliberation. And so the three of us will go back and then we’ll discuss the who we believed, who we didn’t believe, who we may not have believed in general, but we believed these facts. And then we’ll take the law and we put them together. And people get to see that not every judge is going to come down the same way. We do have disagreements. There are dissenting opinions in our cases. And I think that that’s probably the most fascinating part about the show’s format that people wouldn’t necessarily know about just how court systems work. They’re going to have one judge who’s going to listen to the facts and they know what the law is. And then boom, you’re only going to get one decision. They see very quickly that judges interpret information and evidence differently.

[27:48] And some judges will also interpret the laws differently or may find that a certain law may be inherently unfair. And so they kind of do a little of this, you know, judicial tap dance and tried to ignore one law and use a different one that’s going to comport with the way they want to rule. So it really shows people how cases are decided when dealing with judges. And we always, I always said, I want this to be educational and I want it to be entertaining.

[28:23] Steph, they will pick apart the case, the three judges, like in a separate room. And exactly what he’s saying, they don’t agree on it, right? It’s almost like they’re saying, hey, here’s what I heard. Here’s how I’m interpreting it. And then they come to the best solution, which was fascinating for me because you’re right. You don’t have the same opinion of all three judges. And so it’s really unique how they actually pick apart the case, which is very cool. And my colleagues are very well accomplished and very smart. So, you know, when you have three type A’s who believe they’re right, each one of them, each one of us believe that we’re right. Some of those deliberations can get quite spicy.

[29:05] And I do. And I like that, you know, and it’s funny because my Pat Domingo is a colleague of mine. She was a Supreme Court judge in Brooklyn. Yes. So we’re, you know, we’re city folk. And Tanya Acker was a litigator, a brilliant litigator in L.A. and there is a difference between L.A. People. I don’t care who you are. There are differences between L.A. people and New York people. Yes. There are very clear differences. And we’re in season three now. Season two is being released one a day now on Amazon, and we’ve already done one. So when I showed up, I think that was a bit of a shocker for Judge Acker that who is this guy? He’s like five foot six on a good day. But he’s like my cousin Vinny in there. And it’s true. It’s true. I mean, he’s street smart, common sense, and like a little pit bull, a little pit viper. Boy, I mean, he’s fighting every day in his family stuff. For sure. I mean, he’s been practicing his entire life. Yes. Oh, it’s so good. Well, listeners, for more information about Judge Levy, you can go to the Instagram and Facebook accounts, tribunaljustice.tv. Also, new episodes of Tribunal Justice will stream weekdays on Prime Video. Well, Judge Levy, thank you so much for saying yes to us. You’re fantastic. I absolutely love these stories and your personality. So thank you for saying yes to us. Yes, thank you. Anytime. It was so nice meeting you two. Please have me on again.

[30:33] Friends, we want to encourage you to please follow us wherever you listen to this, whether it’s on the Apple Podcast app, iHeartRadio, Spotify, or one of the other platforms. You guys, it’s completely free. And while you’re there, feel free to give us a rating or a nice review. Thank you for listening to Tell Us a Good Story.