Ex-TV host Judge Joe Brown arrested for courtroom meltdown

Shelby County Sheriff's Office

Ex-TV host Judge Joe Brown arrested for courtroom meltdown
(Image credit: Shelby County Sheriff's Office)

Former daytime television mainstay Judge Joe Brown got a taste of his own medicine yesterday. Upon learning that a child-support case he was representing a client in was pushed off the court's afternoon docket, Brown became "pretty raucous," challenging the authority of Magistrate Harold Horne, who repeatedly told the 66-year-old to calm down.

When Brown didn't, Horne held him in contempt five times before removing him. Bystanders "were all kind of floored" by his behavior, CNN reports. The former host, whose eponymous show was canceled last May, was sentenced to five days in jail, though it's unclear when he'll serve them. Brown was later released on his own recognizance.

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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.