Family Values

Judge Mathis holds court in his Los Angeles home in a new E! series

- CHRIS WALLENBERG

On his longrunning courtroom series, Judge Greg Mathis (above center) rules from behind the bench with a no-nonsense attitude and a dash of razor-sharp wit. When litigants get out of hand, he can bang his gavel and assert his authority. But on Mathis Family Matters, which offers an unvarnished glimpse at the judge's home life, viewers discover that when the robe comes off, there's no order in this court. "I'm just totally ignored, man," Mathis says with a laugh about his family, including (clockwise from bottom right) his four adult children, Jade, Amir, Greg Jr. and Camara, and wife Linda. "They think I want to run everybody's life, so they just blow me off. I tell 'em to 'All rise, and they look at me like I'm crazy!"