>Viewers who watch "Curtis Court" will quickly see a major difference between the legal show and most of its competition. Instead of only having the judge (or in this case, arbitrator) be the sole voice of reason and knowledge, the show also depends on "experts" who are brought in to help decide on the case at hand.
The show also sometimes leaves the courtroom, as Curtis goes into the field to check out all angles of the case -- recently even travelling to Las Vegas to check out a wedding chapel involved in a case.
Curtis also differs from some of his counterparts in that he really appears interested about the people who appear before him. For him, the cases are about the breakdown of relationships. Between friends, relatives or even neighbors.
"I really genuinely care about these folks," he says, noting, "These are the same kinds of issues that really everybody deals with in everyday life across the country and that people will continue to struggle with."
And the issues do vary. From heavier subjects like domestic violence, adultery, child custody and support, child care and drug and alcohol abuse, to lighter cases involving unpaid debts, minor car accidents and disagreements, Curtis has seen many.
And what are his most interesting cases? Cases involving pets, Curtis says, can be "intense." He points to one case where a woman froze her cat after it was killed by a pit bull. But he gets involved in all arguments, trying to find out where the line of communication broke down -- and why.
And if all continues as planned, "Curtis Court" will be a place where people can continue coming for many years to come to get those issues cleared up. But does Curtis have any advice to someone who wants to come onto his show? He has a question.
"One of the questions I ask consistently is, 'What have you done to work this out beforehand?'" Curtis explains. "That gives me insight into, among other things, their character and what their attitude is towards the lawsuit. People who are too happy and too quick to come into court concern me greatly."
James Curtis is smiling. The prosecutor-turned-on-air personality has good reason to be pleased -- his syndicated court show "Curtis Court" is riding high after securing new timeslots following ratings leader 
