He was the
referee in the
Tyson-
Holyfield bout that left Holyfield one earchunk short. This bit of time in the spotlight resulting from the disqualification, I assume, is what enabled him to get his own show. I am actually grateful for this because he makes a lot more sense than
some of the other television judges.
One thing, however, disturbs me. During the first season (in 1998), the opening montage had clips of the honorable judge doing honorable judge things, with a voiceover narrating his accomplishments (My personal favorite is the last line: "Judge Mills Lane - America's Judge!"). Recently, there was a new montage involving an extremely cheesy song, and clips of the judge jogging and smiling amidst a bunch of what I assume are judge groupies. Every time I see it, I wonder what Judge Mills Lane must have thought of that while doing it. I can imagine the producers trying to persuade him. Okay, so maybe it's only funny to me, but I think if you've ever seen the show you'd know what I mean.
Okay, to make this writeup a bit more complete, I suppose I should supply more information. If memory serves correct, the voiceover says he was a Marine, a boxer, a lawyer, a prosecutor, and referee. His courtroom is located in New York City, and thus, follows New York laws. It is a small claims court with a jurisdictional limit of $3,000. That is that is the maximum amount you can sue for (if you want to sue for more, you would take it to another type of court, I think it is District Court in New York).
Personally, I agree with a majority of his decisions. He tries to be fair and I think he succeeds at this. He often throws out litigants who talk out of turn (It seems he does it a lot more often now than in the first season).
His catchphrase, Let's Get It On!, is also the title of his book.