Judge Joe Brown found himself on the other end of a no-nonsense judge’s ruling Monday when he was sentenced to five days in jail for contempt of court charges after several outbursts in Memphis juvenile court.
Brown, who recently announced he was running for Shelby County District Attorney, was reportedly in court to represent a woman in a child support case and got irate after court workers informed him they had no record of the case. Audio of the meltBrown was later released to the media and on the recording (included below) you can hear Brown challenge Juvenile Court Magistrate Harold Horne, who seemed to calmly suggest that Judge Joe Brown and his client return for a scheduled hearing in April. That didn’t seem to be a viable option for Brown.
“If it please the tribunal I will file a petition of habeas corpus and close this place down, like I did before,” Brown says in the clip.
“You are very close to finding yourself in contempt,” Horne responded.
“Excuse me,” Brown retorted. “On what authority do you sit, by the way? As a former judge here, we have a rule in the 30th judicial district that says every single magistrate referee has to be unanimously approved by every Circuit, Chancery and Criminal Court judge. I don’t recall that your name’s ever been submitted, sir. This tribunal, on a general court’s authority, is insufficient to establish you.”
Horne then sentenced Brown to 24 hours in jail for contempt of court, which provoked Brown even further.
“You want to get into this, let’s get into it,” Brown says in a soundbite sure to find its way onto his campaign posters soon. “This sorry operation needs to stop.”
Brown insisted that Horne only had the authority to fine him $10 for contempt, and he can be heard calling the court a “circus.” Horne then increased Brown’s sentence incrementally as Brown continued to pontificate from 2 to 3 to 4 to 5 days.
Juvenile Court Chief Magistrate Dan Brown later upheld Horne’s ruling and said of the incident, “He all but had that courtroom in a riot.”
Judge Joe Brown was booked at the Criminal Justice Center around 3:30 PM and Sheriff’s spokesman Chip Washington said of Brown’s incarceration in an email sent out to media outlets, “Joe Brown will be held at the CJC in protective custody segregated from the general population until either he has served his sentence or is released beforehand.” He then added, “If anything changes regarding that I will let you know.”
As if getting arrested wouldn’t be enough to insure garnering numerous headlines and lots of media attention to boost his campaign, the Elect Judge Joe Brown Facebook page shared this unhyperbolievable post after his arrest likening Brown to none other than Martin Luther King, Jr.
Judge Joe Brown, jailed in Memphis! This is not any different than when Martin Luther King was jailed repeatedly, while fighting for our rights. The only difference is that he will not be a Martyr Make this photo your profile picture as s show of solidarity. Think about it, if the court system will not respect him in a court of law, where does that leave you.
The post was accompanied by this photo of MLK:
The page also wrote:
Judge Joe Brown, Candidate for Shelby County District Attorney, has been arrest in Shelby County on contempt charges and is serving 5 days in jail. This speaks to the heavy handed, cruel, and inhuman attitude that’s prevalent in Shelby County justice. Judge Joe Brown would change this cold and calculated administering of justice.
And then this:
Lawyers representing Brown filed a motion for his release about a half hour after he was booked and Criminal Court Judge James Beasley released Brown shortly before 7PM, according to multiple sources. At this time it is unknown if Brown’s contept charges have been dropped or if there will be a hearing about them at a later date.
Here is Judge Joe Brown speaking to the media after his release:
The Elect Judge Joe Brown Facebook page celebrated his release with some seriously ramped up rhetoric:
Meanwhile, the chairperson for Amy Weirich’s campaign (Brown’s opponent in the Shelby County District Attorney race) emailed this statement about Brown’s arrest to media outlets: “Just think of all those poor kids who had child support hearings today who now have to wait because Joe Brown did what he does best – pulls a circus stunt in order to get on TV,” attorney Lang Wiseman wrote. “Maybe that’s how they do it in fake Hollywood courtrooms, but this is real life with real people who depend on the integrity of the justice system.”
It seems to me that Judge Joe Brown is just vying for a new reality series titled D.A. Joe Brown. I have to confess that it sure seems like it would be entertaining to watch!
