Something I’ve always wondered about night court

[Lance Uppercut]

Is this a real thing? Night time court?

Also what time is this supposed to take Place? They mention going out to dinner after work. I know this is New York, but is it like 1 am or something?

Most court houses I’ve been to, they finish at 5 pm. And closed on weekends.

Also similarly, most cop shows, depict the police station empty on weekends and at night. Isn’t it one of those places where there should also be full of people?

[Limity (BLM)]

Night courts were a real thing, and still may be in certain places like New York City, just to keep up with the sheer volume of arrests, and to ensure that judges review paperwork establishing probable cause in a timely manner. At my department, there is always a judge on the weekend that is faxed new charge paperwork and establishes bail sets.

And police departments do have people at night and on weekends, but only those officers on duty. No administration, no support staff, admin assistants, etc. etc., so it can seem comparatively empty.

[Sephiroth]

Small claims courts do operate very much along the lines of night court, though I don’t know if they run from dusk till dawn. And yes, they see their share of weirdness, though the show exaggerated it a lot.

[Rumble McSkirmish]

As an aside I remember towards the end of the original series they did an episode where they were forced to fill in for the day staff and the joke was everything was much nicer during the day: The cases bought before them were more tame and mundane, the crappy cafeteria they frequented operated as a three star restaurant and the perpetually snarky Roz was a complete morning person singing showtunes and bringing in muffins for her coworkers.