Joe Brown (judge)

Infobox Person
name = Joe Brown

|330px
caption = "Judge Joe Brown" 2006
birthname = Joseph Brown
birth_date = birth date and age|1947|7|5
birth_place = Washington, D.C.

occupation = Criminal Courts Judge, TV personality
years_active = 1974 - present (as Judge),
1998 - present (as TV show host)
spouse = Deborah Herron, 2001 - present

Judge Joe Brown (born July 5, 1947 in Washington, DC) is a judge and host of a court show which shares his name, and proudly declares to all viewers, "It's Joe time!" 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 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" small claims court litigation.Fact|date=February 2007 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. [http://www.flyetapi.org/famous.html]

Cynthia McKinney wrote 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 [ [http://www.counterpunch.org/mckinney0918.html Transcript of Rep. McKinney's remarks on September 14 at the reception for the Congressional Black Caucus] ]

On March 19th, 2008, Brown wrote a character reference letter to Judge William Terrell Hodges in regards to actor Wesley Snipes for Snipes' tax evasion trial. [ [http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0423_snipes_wm.pdf Brown's letter to Judge Terrell] ]

References

External links

* [http://judgejoebrown.com/ Judge Joe Brown]
*imdb name|id=0423538|name=Judge Joe Brown