OVERRULED

Thirty lashes with a wet noodle!

Simon & Shuster’s promoting Judge Joseph A. Wapner’s book “View from the Bench” (due in November) in the May 1 issue of Publisher’s Weekly by claiming the “People’s Court” judge is “the single most popular guest in the history of ‘The Tonight Show.’ ”

But exec producer Fred de Cordova told us: “I’d say he’s an always welcome guest. But there’s no such thing as the ‘single most popular.’ ”

Cordova said Wapner has appeared on the show about three or four times, but that a popularity survey has never been conducted and probably never will be.

“View From the Bench,” according to the promo in PW, will cover Wapner’s 20 years as a judge and the “funny, often moving, sometimes outrageous accounts of his off-camera experiences.”