Judges are the most important officials in the American legal system because, like it or not, judges make law in court cases. These are not the judges' decisions in "Peoples Court" or "Judge Judy", but the written decisions of appellate courts relied on as the law by all trial court judges and lawyers. Written judicial decisions are the law in the Anglo-American legal system.

Alexis de Tocqueville observed 150 years ago, "every issue in American business and government gets presented and decided in the courts by a Judge." This has not changed, and is the reason for the fascination of Americans with judges' decisions and is the reason for Ritter writing YOU BE THE JUDGE for 30 YEARS.

You may order YOU BE THE JUDGE I, II, III, or IV, or a subscription to the weekly column by clicking on the ONLINE STORE.

YOU BE THE JUDGE I is an assortment of court cases on job discrimination, liability for injury, free speech, and income taxes.

YOU BE THE JUDGE II is a book of cases on family, divorce, and marital law.

YOU BE THE JUDGE III concentrates on age, sex, and race discrimination law.

YOU BE THE JUDGE IV is a collection of the best cases printed in both English and Russian.