<P> Three days every other week (two weeks a month), Sheindlin and her producers tape the court show . They usually produce ten to twelve cases for each day they tape the show . This makes for about a week's worth of episodes, all done within one day . Anywhere from thirty to thirty - six cases are taped over three days during the week . Sheindlin appeared as a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 13, 2011 . When asked by Kimmel how many days a month she works, Sheindlin replied, "Five days ." Sheindlin and her producers sometimes tape only five cases per day and two days per week . The show has fifty - two taping days a year . For each season, some 650 claims are brought to the set to be "presided" over by Judge Judy . This means approximately 8,450 claims have been brought to Judy Sheindlin's Hollywood set as of the end of its thirteenth season (2008--09). </P> <P> For the most part, cases are taped all throughout the year except for two breaks Sheindlin and all of the staff members of her show have for the year . One of the two breaks includes an extra week off in December, as the show is only taped one week out of that month because of the holidays . The other break is from mid-July (only taping one week in July) and all through August . According to members of the show, the reason for this break is that people are more interested in taking vacations than in filing lawsuits around that time . When the show premieres in September, only the best episodes of the ones taped before Sheindlin's break are selected to begin out the season . Thus, the first few weeks (the first week in particular) will consist of what the show feels to be its best episodes . In Sheindlin's words, "It's like drinking wine . You don't serve the really good bottle of wine third ." </P> <P> Altogether, there are 260 new episodes each season . There is at least one new episode for every weekday, with the exception of a few hiatuses during most of the summer and a couple of holidays . The cases are all pre-recorded for editing purposes and will usually air one to three months after being taped . The cases are mixed up and not shown in order of when they were recorded . While the cases taped in March end the seasons, the cases taped throughout April, May, June, and July start out each season in September and last through October . Throughout the very beginning of each season, two new Judge Judy episodes air per day . After two weeks, this is reduced to one new airing a day, followed by a repeat . There are also various other moments throughout the year where two new episodes are shown for a few weeks . This has sometimes included January when the show returns from its winter hiatus . Two new episodes are also shown daily during the "sweeps" months of November, February, and May . Unlike other television programs, the Judge Judy season finale does not air in April or May; rather, it airs in June, July, or August . When the season finale is extended to July or August, most of the summer episodes preceding it are repeats with new episodes that are few and far in - between . </P> <P> Two DVDs, featuring "memorable cases," have been released by the show: the first in 2007, "Judge Judy: Justice Served," and the second in 2008, "Judge Judy: Second To None ." </P>

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