Is Jerry Springer Show indecent? British judge asked to decide

A British judge has been asked to determine whether episodes of The Jerry Springer Show are too racy for British television.

Lord Justice David Neuberger, a judge at the British Court of Appeal, has referred a case involving cancellation of the show in Britain to trial at the Queen's Bench Commercial Division of the High Court.

In effect, he has ordered another judge to watch the show to determine whether some episodes violate British broadcasting rules and standards of decency.

"It must be necessary for the judge who determines such issues to see at least some of the episodes," Neuberger wrote.

He ordered the two parties to the dispute —Britain's Flextech Television and Universal Studios —to reach an agreement on how much of the show the judge has to watch.

Content called unsuitable

Flextech, which provides 10 cable channels in the U.K., cancelled The Jerry Springer Show in 2001, saying it contained content not suitable for daytime viewing.

Flextech had signed a contract with Universal Studios International in 1998 to air the show as long as it ran in the U.S.

But by 2001, Flextech said the majority of episodes did not comply with the U.K.'s Independent Television Commission code.

Universal has challenged Flextech's right to cancel the program, and says the content of The Jerry Springer Show has changed little over the years.

The show often involves open conflict —including swearing, nudity and even fisticuffs — as family members, former colleagues or lovers confront each other over past sins.

Neuberger said the judge must decide whether there had been "a change of content" sufficient to justify cancelling the show in the U.K.