Judith Sheindlin, better known as "Judge Judy," is bringing her brand of law and order to the South Charleston High School graduation ceremony.
A South Charleston High School student, Sophie Mallory, won a Facebook essay contest to have the popular television judge speak at the ceremony on May 20 at the Charleston Civic Center.
Mallory was selected from a pool of 10 finalists in the second annual "Ultimate High School Graduation...With America's Favorite Judge!" contest, which was sponsored by CBS Television Distribution and open to high school seniors nationwide.
"Here at South Charleston High School, we value hard work and don't [put] up with any nonsense which is the way that you run your courtroom," Mallory's 250-word essay says. "We all worked hard for four years to get to this point in our lives. The opportunity to have a woman who fought to have the life and career she has now to come and speak at our graduation is a priceless one."
Sheindlin selected Mallory's entry out of hundreds of essays, and will visit West Virginia for the first time to delivery the commencement speech, said Gary Rosen, Sheindlin's publicist.
"I was very self aware of where we live and the hardships we face," Mallory said. "In this state, education isn't valued. I think being self aware like that spoke to Judge Judy."
Mallory, who plans to attend Marshall University in the fall, found out about the competition through her civics teacher, a fan of the show.
Mallory said she was shocked when she found out that she had won the competition.
In addition to "Judge Judy's" commencement speech, Mallory will also get to meet Sheindlin.
South Charleston principal, Michael Arbogast, said Sheindlin's appearance adds a different level of excitement to an already exciting time of year for seniors.
He added, however, that the event is about the students.
"This isn't a Judge Judy speech, I'd like to emphasize that," Arbogast said. "This is a graduation ceremony for our students and we're hoping people will respect that, and that South Charleston High School families aren't going to get shut out because of 'Judge Judy' fans."
Family members of graduates will be given tickets and priority seating at the event. After ticket-holders have been seated, the general public will be allowed in the Civic Center.
Mallory said while she is excited, she did fear having a celebrity come to graduation might make the event a bit of a spectacle.
"Our school has handled it well," Mallory said. "I want people to make sure people know graduation is a big opportunity for students, and part of the best year of our lives."
Arbogast said that 4,000-5,000 people attend the graduation annually, but the Civic Center can accommodate 6,000 people.
South Charleston High School will be livestreaming the event from the school website.
The livestream will begin at 10 a.m. on May 20 at http://sctvnetwork.net/.
Last year, Sheindlin spoke to graduating seniors in Shiprock, N.M. on a Navajo reservation.
"It was a fantastic experience for her," Rosen said.
Sheindlin's show "Judge Judy" celebrated its 21st anniversary last September. The program airs weekday afternoons and receives 10 million viewers each day, Rosen said.
Reach Kayla Asbury at kayla.asbury@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5100 or follow @kasbury_ on Twitter.