Judging Amy - Air Date 19 Oct. 1999

I know it's not the most professional way to start a media review, but AAARRRGGGHHHHH!  I should be ready for it, being less than two weeks before Samhain (Halloween for you non-Witches out there) the networks are pulling out all of their 'spooky' Halloween material.  'Judging Amy' was the first of this years' Halloween episode crop, and I hope it's not an indication of what we have to look forward to.
     Judging Amy is an hour drama on the CBS network about a thirty-something female judge in New York.  This particular episode focuses on a custody battle where the father of the child wants full custody because the mother is- you guessed it- a Witch. 
    I will first admit that there were a few bright spots in the episode, but they were terribly overshadowed by the incorrect information given, the negative portrayal of the Wiccan mother, and the general lack of research done on any aspect of Witchcraft or Wicca.  My list of kudos- Amy, the Judge, is very level headed and doesn't let the stereotypes of Witches cloud her judgment.  She has a great closing statement about intolerance and hate when the Wiccan mother basically gets run out of town by her neighbors, and I appreciated that- but it still couldn't save this travesty of an episode.
     The problems with the show are numerous, to say the least.  One of the biggest complaints the WLPA has was the portrayal of the mother to begin with.  In the courtroom, all the people are dressed in suits or nice outfits, very professional- except the Wiccan.  They made her look like a freak, with wild unkempt hair, deep sunken eyes, and a perpetual scowl or pout. She was fairly well spoken- when they gave her an opportunity to speak- but what she had to say was always interrupted with shouts of 'satanic' and 'cult' by the child's' father or his lawyer. 
     Another HUGE problem in this episode was the 'expert witness' that the mother's lawyer hired to clear up the misconceptions about Witchcraft.  She was from the 'Wiccan Anti Defamation League' (Not to be confused with the very real organization by the same acronym).  She came to the stand and refused to defend the mother, because she didn't want Wiccans to get any 'bad publicity'- actually calling the mother a 'bad Witch' to her face!  There was NO evidence presented or even hinted at that this woman was a bad mother OR a 'bad Witch'- the portrayal of someone from a pro Witchcraft organization not defending at least the religion of Wicca is completely incorrect and inexcusable. 
     During all the various proceedings, the characters (And therefore one must assume the writers as well) showed no actual knowledge of Wicca or Witchcraft.  At one point it was even said that Wicca was not a 'legally recognized religion' in the state of New York!  I have a few reams of federal legal findings dating back to 1986 that would beg to differ on that point.  Even the lawyer of the distraught mother, while shouting about his clients' right to freedom of religion, offered absolutely no evidence or argument to the validity of that religion, or even any clue that he understood what the religion was.  When this was the entire point of the case- arguing child custody because the mother was a Witch- I think legal counsel would have at least read up on Wicca a little. 
     Unfortunately this show did have some very realistic portrayals in it- the hysteria that the word 'Witch' can still generate in a community, the abuse that many Witches face if people around them find out their beliefs, and the fact that society as a whole still has a lot of learning to do when it comes to minority religions.  There was no happy ending- the woman ends up giving up on the case and leaving town without her child, run out by people breaking her car windows and calling her with death threats.  This episode could have taught a lot, it had the potential, but it's obvious that TV writers have a lot to learn, too.  To bad, really. 

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Judging Amy
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