Supreme Court bans Judge Joe Brown from the bench

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Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Judge Joe Brown
FILE - Tennessee state Criminal Court Judge Joe Brown listens to testimony by forensics scientist Robert Hathaway during a special hearing in Memphis on Thursday, Feb. 20, 1997.
ktrk-AP Photo/John L. Focht

MEMPHIS, TN -- Former television judge Joe Brown cannot practice law in Tennessee under an order from the state Supreme Court.

According to The Commercial Appeal, the state's highest court has placed Brown on disability inactive status, which designates that a lawyer is temporarily disabled and incapacitated from practicing law. Lawyers can resume practice when they prove to the court that the disability has been removed.

Production company Celebritunity says Brown is suffering from complications from type II diabetes "and the effects of prescribed medication for the condition combined with hypertension and stress."

Brown unsuccessfully ran for Shelby County district attorney in 2014. He was jailed for five days last September for contempt of court stemming from an outburst in Juvenile Court in March 2014.