Judge Joe Brown was recently arrested and jailed on a contempt of court charge following a courtroom argument with Magistrate Harold Horne, CNN reports. The TV judge was sentence to five days in prison after he reportedly became “pretty raucous” and “challenged the authority” of Horne, who was presiding over a child custody case that Brown was representing.
The argument reportedly began after Brown learned that his case was not on the afternoon docket Chief Magistrate Dan Michael told reporters. Horne, who Michael describes as “a real laid-back guy,” gave Brown quite a few chances to calm down before finding him in contempt. Brown’s behavior was so irate that the court staff and judges “were all kind of floored.” As a result, the 66-year-old was booked into the Shelby County jail in Memphis. He was later released on his own recognizance.
Fellow TV judge Karen Mills-Francis recently offered comment on Brown’s courtroom meltdown and according to the TV personality, Brown has gone off of the deep end.
“His behavior is totally inappropriate,” Judge Karen told RumorFix. “Judges rarely hold anyone in contempt of court – it’s something you want to use sparingly. He had five different opportunities to say ‘I’m sorry and I’m being inappropriate.’”
She adds that this is the second time this year that Brown has demonstrated questionable behavior.
“He’s losing it — he knew that direct contempt is criminally punishable and he’s running for district attorney for that county. When you’re a viable political candidate, you don’t put yourself in a position to go to jail,” the former Miami Dade County judge expressed. “Judge Brown is obviously undergoing some kind of emotional and mental breakdown. He probably needs some help. He is demeaning the judiciary.”
Watch CNN’s full report below.
