Caso Cerrado

Caso Cerrado
Starring	Ana María Polo
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	1 hour
Release
Original network	Telemundo
Original release	April 2, 2001 - April 2005 (As Couples Court) April 2005-present (As Case Closed) – present
Website

Caso Cerrado (Case Closed), formerly Sala de Parejas (Couples' Court), is a Spanish-language court show broadcast by Telemundo in which Cuban-born, American-raised lawyer Ana María Polo arbitrates cases for volunteer participants.

Caso Cerrado (Case Closed) (formerly called Sala de Parejas (Couple's Court) began running on April 2, 2001 and originally dealt with the arbitration of marital problems between litigants. The show was originally called Sala de Parejas (Couple's Court) until April 2005, when it was expanded to include other disputes not related to marital issues, such as violence and child abuse, and occasional segments where Polo seeks to educate the audience about issues related to the law. Along with the show's new format and new content added, production decided it was necessary to rename it. Caso Cerrado (Case Closed) the second and current show title refers to the phrase Polo says at the end of every case, which is usually accompanied by the strike of a gavel.

On each show, Polo usually takes up to three cases with conflicting guests and attempts to solve them as an arbiter. Polo does not function as a judge, but an arbiter to settle differences between litigants. Before participating, guests are required to sign contracts agreeing to recognize and comply with Polo's decision.

Until 2006 the show was produced by Promofilm Estados Unidos. It is now solely produced by Telemundo. The network does provide alternate English language closed captioning for the program on the CC3 caption channel.

In 2010, Caso Cerrado made history by becoming the first show on a Spanish-spoken broadcasting company to be nominated for an Emmy award. Ana María Polo was nominated for an episode of the series that covered a family's special case in which a horse was purchased under false pretenses.

Caso Cerrado has been polemically criticized about the veracity of the cases and situations introduced in the show. In the end credits, a disclaimer is presented stating that most of the cases are dramatized. On January 4, 2009, Ana María Polo stated during an interview with the Chilean newspaper La Tercera, "Most of the cases have to be arranged and modified. It's the message that we send to the audience what really counts." She added that every case is real, however, sometimes actors are used in cases where participants in the dispute do not want to appear on the show.

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Wikipedia