Thanks to infamous run-ins with vulgar and sometimes violent defendants, Broward Judge John "Jay" Hurley is garnering a huge online following.
Hurley has seen it all in his time on the bench, from bored defendants to a man in a wheelchair who walked away a free man.
"When I started I thought this was some kind of punishment because I was a new kid on the block," Hurley said. "Once I got in here I realize not only could I do a good job for the community but I found there was a certain interest in what I did."
His job has earned him a daily following on computer screens across the nation, where viewers tune in to see what will happen in his courtroom.
"Judge Hurley popped into our chatroom the other night, and oh my God, it's like a celebrity like that is better than George Clooney," said Cathy Russon, owner of CourtChatter.tv, a site that live streams trials as well as Broward bond court. "There's a whole community of people that watch him every day."
Hurley's flair for fairness and fashion gets fans tweeting. One fan wanted to know how many bow ties he owns. The answer for the record is 150, he wears them on bowtie Friday.
"You are welcome to come in here and wear a bowtie whenever you'd like. I want everyone to wear a bowtie, it's a festive day, everyone's looking to end the week," Hurley said.
Many want to know if Hurley would ever go the "Judge Judy" route and have his own TV show.
"I think I'd be flattered if someone ever asked me and I would definitely go home and ask my wife," he said. "Who knows which way, I like a good adventure."
And every good TV judge needs a catchphrase.
"My catchphrase could be 'you don't have to respect me, I'm just a man in a robe," he said.
But a TV gig would mean no more Broward Circuit Court.
"I don't know that I would find anything as interesting as doing this," Hurley said.
