The host of CNN’s Headline News is getting ready to dethrone Judge Judy Sheindlin as head b*tch-in-charge on courtroom TV, industry insiders gush on the pages of the Oct. 26 issue of GLOBE.

Industry buzz claims the acid-tongued Grace — a 50-year-old new mother of two — donned a black robe to film the CBS pilot Swift Justice with Nancy Grace earlier this month. Spies say Nancy will be settling real-life legal disputes on her new show — and she’s already set her sights on stealing Judge Judy’s 6.5 million viewer strong audience. But that may prove no easy feat — even for Nancy. Judge Judy was the most-watched program on daytime TV in 2008, dropping the Queen of Talk Oprah Winfrey and her long-running gabfest to second place.

Nancy, who specializes in sounding off on real-life crime dramas, became interested in law after her fiance was murdered by one her co-workers in 1979.

“Nancy is incredibly competitive and intends to steal Judge Judy’s thunder,” says a tattling tipster. “It’s going to be a bitter battle between two of the strongest women on television. Other female judges, including Marilyn Milian and Glenda Hatchett tried — and failed — to knock Judy off her perch. But Grace really has a good shot — she’s bringing a small but rabid fanbase to her new program, which will debut next year.”

Would you watch a courtroom drama starring Nancy Grace?

The earthquake in Los Angeles sent crowds running from a taping of Judge Judy on Tuesday.

Veteran television justice enforcer Judge Judy is about to find herself on the wrong side of the bench-at least in the court of public opinion. A former producer on the court show Judge Judy says he was fired after complaining about a supervisor’s order to halt the booking of black litigants. Former Senior Producer Jonathan Sebastien filed suit in L.A. County Superior Court last week alleging that Randy Douthit — a supervisor — told staffers: “We’re not doing any more black shows,” and “I don’t want to hear black people arguing.”

Show producers were ordered to book more “white upscale, pretty people” for “Judge Judy,” and to send black litigants to the Judge Joe Brown show, which is produced by the same company. After objecting to the mandate, Sebastien claims his boss “berated and mocked him,” and fired him on March 30.

Judge Judy Sheindlin herself is not named as a defendant.

A rep for CBS Paramount tells TMZ: “CBS Paramount does not comment on pending litigation.” A staffer from “Judge Judy” — who did not want to be identified — says the suit has “no merit” and that the claims are being being made by “a disgruntled former employee who was fired for cause.”

Television’s Judge Judy has some tough words for fallen pop idol Britney Spears.

“‘Britney, life is not a dress rehearsal. You only have one chance to go through it. You’ve made two children, you’ve made mistakes. Not irreperable. What you have to do is you have to figure out what you’re going to do with the rest of your life. You have to start out by being as responsible as you can. No drinking, no drugs, no parties,’” she says. “‘You have to educate yourself to be a whole human being. So get smart baby, because you’re 25 and a quarter of it, if you live to be 100, is over!’”

As for Kevin, the Judge says: “Maybe he’ll actually shape up!” she says. “Figure out how to put his hat on his head — frontways instead of sideways or backwards. Maybe he’ll even get a job that’s responsible so his children can see that he goes to work. And it certainly would seem to me that it would behoove him not to at least leave people with the impression that this is a money thing for him so that he can get a free ride off somebody else’s talent and finances. He’s a man, he’s the hunter. He should be out there hunting!”

Tough television book-thrower Judge Judy hurled a series of insults at ‘I Know Who Killed Me’ star Lindsay Lohan following the young starlet’s second DUI arrest in a week.

“If you are dumb enough and arrogant enough or immature enough to place other people’s lives in danger you have to be punished. Seriously, I’m not playing around. She is not the victim – the public is the victim because it is the public that is at risk.

“If the young community sees that we are more worried about Lindsay Lohan than we are about the people who have to dodge out of the way of her car, being driven erratically, that’s not where our emphasis should be. When you place other people’s lives at risk there are serious consequences. If you drive a car and we’ve taken away your privilege of driving a car then you have to go to jail. You don’t have to go to jail forever but you have to go to jail until it hurts.”

Hard-nosed New Yorker and television judge Judy Sheindlin co-signed the decision to jail hotel heiress Paris Hilton for probation violation during a Monday night appearance on CNN’s ‘Larry King Live.’

“When a judge says to somebody, ‘I’m going to give you an opportunity to remain free – you committed a crime.’ In this case, she was driving while intoxicated and endangered a lot of people. ‘But I’m going to give you a chance to stay out of jail, even though I could put you in jail for what you did, but you have to abide by these rules.’ And she breaks the rules. “Paris Hilton is a criminal – a little criminal, but a criminal.”