Joe Brown (judge)
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| Joe Brown | |
 "Judge Joe Brown" 2006
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| Born | July 5, 1947 Washington, D.C. |
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| Occupation | Criminal Courts Judge, TV personality |
| Spouse | Deborah Herron, 2001 - present |
Judge Joe Brown (born July 5, 1947 in Washington, DC) is a judge and a court show host. Raised in Los Angeles, California, Brown earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree at UCLA, before moving to Memphis, Tennessee in 1974.
Brown became the first African American prosecutor in the City of Memphis. He would later open his own law practice before becoming a Judge on the State Criminal Court of Shelby County, Tennessee.
Brown was thrust into the national spotlight while presiding over James Earl Ray's last appeal for Ray's conviction for the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and caught the attention of the producers of Judge Judy. The syndicated Judge Joe Brown court show premiered in 1998. The series is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution, and it may be found on network television stations in the United States during daytime programming.
Notable among his many guests, popular musicians Coolio, Ike Turner and Rick James were each a litigant on the Judge Joe Brown show.
Brown's television program has no real judicial power sanctioned by any state or government. The television program acts as an agreed-upon arbitration in place of a small claims court date.[citation needed] The producers maintain the pretense of a civil courtroom. The program also features a reporter: Jacque Kessler, and a bailiff: "Miss" Holly Evans (1998-2006) and "Madam" Sonia Montejano (2006-present).
Brown married Deborah Herron in December 2001 in Oxnard, CA.
Brown is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established for African Americans. [1]
Cynthia McKinney wrote in CounterPunch on September 13, 2002 that Joe Brown told her and the Congressional Black Caucus unequivocally that the so-called murder rifle was not the weapon that killed Dr. King [1]
On March 19th, 2008, Brown wrote a character reference letter to Judge William Terrell Hodges in regards to actor Wesley Snipes for his (Snipes) tax evasion trial. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ Transcript of Rep. McKinney's remarks on September 14 at the reception for the Congressional Black Caucus
- ^ Brown's letter to Judge Terrell
