Judge Joe Brown, a former TV judge, was arrested on Monday for contempt of court after he made a scene in court on Monday and became verbally abusive.

'Judge Joe Brown' Arrested

Brown allegedly arrived at a Shelby County, Memphis juvenile court, claiming he was there to defend a client in a child support case. When he was informed that the case was not on the docket for Monday, Brown went into a rage, ignoring the judge who cautioned him to calm himself. Sources told TMZ that Brown “incited a near riot.” Brown was arrested for five counts of contempt of court.

Brown was sentenced to five days in jail, but was released soon after his arrest on his own recognizance. Upon his release, Brown spoke to reporters and insisted that he became so incensed due to his passion for his client, who he claims is being unfairly prosecuted for child support.

Court Recording Of Joe Brown's Tantrum

A recording of the incident has been released, and Brown can be heard getting extremely angry. At one point in the recording, the judge, Magistrate Harold Horne, can be heard attempting to schedule a date for the hearing of Brown’s case, but Brown refuses saying, “I will file a petition for habeas corpus and close this place down, like I did before, if you make her come back here one more time…."

As Brown’s temper wears thin, he begins to challenge Horne’s authority over the court, mocking him openly, asking, “Excuse me, on what authority do you sit, by the way?” He also threatens the Magistrate’s job, “Guess what, you might not be operating tomorrow.”

Brown stared in his reality program Judge Joe Brown for 11 seasons, starting in 1997. Now that his show is off the air, Brown is working as a lawyer and is currently running to be elected as the Shelby County district attorney.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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