The Judge was introduced in 1969 as a special version of the GTO; originally intended to be a lower cost and equipped GTO similar in concept to the original Road Runner, with emphasis on performance. But like the Road Runner, it soon became super optioned and actually became more expensive than the base GTO. The Judge was offered through the 1971 model year.

The name "The Judge" came from the TV show, "Laugh In," which featured an ongoing skit in which the punch line was "Here come 'da Judge!"