Judge Joe Brown

Judge Joe Brown was born in 1947 in Washington D.C., and was raised in Los Angeles, where he earned his Pol. Sci. degree at UCLA. He also earned his J.D. degree at UCLA,and went on to become the first African-American prosecutor for the City of Memphis.

After his stint as a prosecutor, he opened his own firm, and eventually became a criminal court judge in Shelby County, TN.

The Judge Joe Brown show started in 1998, when producers from the Judge Judy show were drawn to him after he received national attention for presiding over James Earl Ray's last appeal over his conviction for the assassination of Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The show can be seen around the country and is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution. The show is not an actual courtroom, but is really an "alternative dispute resolution" forum. The litigants agree to have Judge Joe Brown mediate their disputes in place of a lawsuit.

Famous guests have included Ike Turner, Rick James (See my YouTube clip above) and Coolio.

Regularly seen on the Judge Joe Brown show are reporter Jacque Kessler and bailiff Sonia Montejano (Holly Evans was the baliff through the 2006 season).