Judge Joe Brown is seeking justice. The former TV personality of his eponymous reality court show gave an interview to ABC News following his Monday, March 24, arrest, claiming that he should have never been thrown in jail for his alleged meltdown. The incident, according to Brown, has "reenergized" his campaign for District Attorney of Shelby County.
"I was not happy to have my liberty detained even for 30 seconds," Brown, 66, told ABC News on Tuesday, following his five-hour long incarceration. "That's precious. It's not about the conditions of incarceration, it's about the loss of liberty," the seasoned judge reasoned.
So why was he even in juvenile court in the first place? Brown, a self-proclaimed "hot shot about protecting people's rights," claims he was defending a fellow civilian. The famous judge said it was a "weird" situation, because he was initially on site to see how the court was being maintained. While walking through the courthouse, a woman requested he look over her child support case.
"I almost felt nauseated looking at it," Brown said of the case. "I insisted that the woman's charges be dismissed," he recalled of standing before the Juvenile Court Magistrate Harole "Hal" Horne. "[The opposition] started talking about, I'm not an attorney so-and-so…" Brown continued. "I said, 'You know it's wrong. … You're better than this.'" As the back-and-forth escalated, Brown eventually was arrested on a contempt of court charge.
According to eyewitness and Chief Magistrate Dan Michael, Brown was held in contempt five times "before they were able to get him out of the courtroom." Michael added to CNN on Monday that the courtroom staff and judges "were all kind of floored" by Brown's behavior. Speaking to ABC News on Tuesday, Michael added, "This is not Hollywood. This is the real thing and as an officer of the court he should have known better."
Brown, however, shared that his five hours in jail were not that bad. "I shook hands and took pictures with all of the staff down there, the deputy jailers and shook hands with inmates," he shared. He was also told not to eat the food offered to him during his incarceration. "They said because the food was now privatized. They've had to take too many people to the hospital for food poisoning," Brown recalled.
A hearing for the judge is set for April 4 in criminal court. Brown, meanwhile, added that in no way was his arrest a publicity stunt as he's currently running for D.A. "Considering my ratings and the fact that I've been coming into the homes of just about everybody with a TV set in Shelby County for about 15 years, what was there to promote? Everybody knows who I am."
Brown's full interview with ABC will air on Good Morning America on Wednesday, March 26.
