The man who helmed a popular TV court show for 15 seasons is now running for office. But could he be up against his worst challenge yet?

Judge Joe Brown, the man whose namesake show gave him the opportunity to dispense justice in his own style, sometimes sitting on top of his bench.

Brown had formerly been a prosecutor in Memphis, Tennessee. In fact, he was the first African-American prosecutor in that city. He later became a judge on the State Criminal Court of Shelby County, Tennessee.

Brown was thrust into the national spotlight when James Earl Ray, the man who killed Martin Luther King, Jr. was filing the last of his appeals. The investigation was re-opened in the case. Judge Brown was presiding, but was removed due to some statements he had made about the murder weapon that led some to believe that he would not be an impartial judge.

But during this time, he was spotted by the producers of the Judge Judy program, a show that has run 18 seasons.

Brown was whisked away to head his own court TV show. But his show was canceled in 2013. Now Judge Brown is running for the of District Attorney back in Shelby County, Tennessee, picking up his judicial career where it left off, it would seem.

But something else has happened in the short time since his walking off the set of his show.

Judge Joe Brown was arrested.

In a scene that was as ironic as anything before, urge Joe Brown was jailed for contempt of court. At the time, he was in the court helping a client in a child support case. Judge Brown says the hearing went ridiculously sideways and he got angry.

Brown was charged with contempt of court, arrested, and sentenced to five days in jail.

The question is, will the citizens of Memphis care that their D.A. has been to jail himself? Or will they see it Joe’s way, that his opponent set this up to try to beat him in the race?

His opponent in the D.A. race, Amy Weirich, made hay with the incident herself, “That sort of disrespectful circus stunt may get Hollywood ratings, but this is real life and real people, and Joe Brown knows better. He should be ashamed of himself.”

Image via YouTube