When Andrea Vasquez, 30, and her older sister Anita, 33, came face to face with one of the most well-known justices on television - Judge Judy - the encounter was exactly how you would expect it to be.

"So scary," the younger sister said.

The two Victoria siblings appeared Monday on the TV show "Judge Judy" in an episode titled "Sisters, Funerals and Guns!" to settle lawsuits they had filed against each other.

"I always thought all of it was fake," Andrea Vasquez said. "But let me tell you, it's real."

Gary Rosen, spokesman for the show, said researchers are sent across the country to courthouses looking for interesting cases that have been filed.

When they find them, they contact the producers, and the producers then contact both parties and, if both parties are willing, invite them on the program.

The morning of June 11, the day of the taping, Vasquez and her 61-year-old father packed their bags and jetted off for a paid trip to California.

The two were originally supposed to fly out the day before, as her older sister had done, but Vasquez's plane was delayed, forcing her and her dad to catch a plane at 4 a.m. the day of the trial.

As soon as the plane touched down in Los Angeles, it was 9 a.m. and go time.

"It literally was plane, cab, studio," she said.

After a speedy makeup session that left Vasquez hardly any time to collect her thoughts, she found herself standing in the courtroom studio, just seconds away from meeting Judge Judy Sheindlin.

Then, she appeared.

"Order. All rise," the bailiff resoundingly instructed a courtroom packed with a studio audience.

From that moment, the full force of the no-nonsense judge bulldozed through the sisters' stories relentlessly, letting up not even slightly.

"She is more intimidating and mean in person," Vasquez said with a laugh. "She is the type who - just her presence will make you forget everything you had in your head."

Fortunately for Vasquez, court documents lying in front of her helped her mind stay on track when fear began to creep back in.

Aside from the surprise that Judge Judy could be any more severe than she seems on television, Vasquez was taken aback by another attribute.

"She's so tiny!" she exclaimed. "They make her look so big on TV."

Still, despite her small frame, Vasquez said, "It's scarier talking to her than even thinking that 10 million people are going to see this."

Vasquez nevertheless chose to have her lawsuit tried by Judge Judy because she thought it would result in a fair trial, something she said she had trouble receiving in her hometown.

"Judge Judy has no ties with me or her (Anita) or Victoria or anything," Vasquez said.

The case, which aired at 11 a.m. Monday on Fox, detailed a lawsuit filed by Vasquez against her older sister for having her falsely arrested for theft. Anita Vasquez reported to the police her younger sister stole property from her house while she was on a trip to Bali.

In turn, Anita Vasquez - who could not be reached for comment after multiple attempts - filed a lawsuit against her younger sister on grounds of harassment for reporting her to the police numerous times on a variety of unrelated accusations.

The sisters' relationship first took a tumultuous turn when they broke into a physical altercation in October 2014, causing the older sister to kick the younger one out of her house, where she and her two children were staying during a hard time.

But Judge Judy cut through the sibling squabble.

In a swift, matter-of-fact motion, the judge made her decision - one that is binding and cannot be appealed in another court.

"It's a very simple issue," Judge Judy said. "And the issue is: Do you (Anita) have a basis - a reasonable basis - for thinking that your sister broke into your house?"

The judge then moved her gaze to meet that of the younger sister's.

"The answer is yes," the judge said bluntly, "so your complaint is dismissed."

But the judge also didn't side with the older sister, saying sternly to her: "Drop it."

The women left separately - the older sister with a friend; the younger sister with her father.

Although Andrea Vasquez did not win her case, she was eventually reimbursed $150 for the claim she filed in Victoria and also got to enjoy Los Angeles.

"It was fun for me, and my dad to just get out of Texas and walk down Hollywood Boulevard," she said.

But above all, she said, "It makes me happy that the case can't be retried here."