Presented with actual cases involving real litigants from across the nation, Judge Joe Brown provides audiences with a face-to-face vantage point for witnessing real trials that offer final and binding resolutions. Judge Brown is committed to giving litigants in his courtroom an opportunity to change -- or he will make them pay the price for their actions.

Judge Brown is nationally known for his solid mix of fairness and justice -- a judge whose main goal is to reach the offender before he's committed his offense. He applies his streetwise, trademark style of passionate judging and tough-love approach to the television courtroom -- and the show's overwhelming success, especially during its second season, points to its effective approach and ability to capture viewers' attention.

"As soon as we met Judge Brown, we knew that he would be a dynamic and unique television personality," says Larry Lyttle, president of Big Ticket Television. "The show has really made its mark, with its extraordinary surge in the ratings. Joe Brown is magnetic, wise and compassionate. At the same time, his from-the-streets upbringing gives him a tough-love approach to courtroom justice that endears him to viewers nationwide."

Judge Brown was raised in one of the toughest neighborhoods in South Central Los Angeles. He overcame his immediate environment, however, through perseverance and his commitment to education.

"My home town is not the kind of place where people are supposed to get out of safe, sound and in whole mind. Of my friends in high school, I'm one of the only ones who hasn't ended up dead or in jail," says Judge Brown. "It was there that I made up my mind that I could make a difference in people's lives -- and making a difference is what I've been all about ever since."

This pioneering judge, who until April 2000 also presided as a State Criminal Court judge in Memphis, Tennessee, developed a completely new way of sentencing first time, non-violent offenders. "I tried not to sentence anyone in the conventional way if I could think of a better way to get their attention," states Judge Brown.

For example, he ordered a convicted burglar to open up his home to let his victim select a choice of the thief's possessions. On another case, he forced a bad-check writer to write something else -- an apology, 100,000 times. Moments like these are the ones Judge Brown lives for -- an instant when the offender before him becomes transformed from just another statistic to someone who becomes painfully aware that crime does not pay. "You see, jail is too easy for some people," he says. "A lot of offenders find being locked up a very viable option because they have food, shelter, a bed, recreation, a social structure and a whole concourse of new and dangerous friends. Sometimes, jail and something more is called for. I try to apply my creative sentencing concept to the civil courtroom on the show whenever I feel that just writing a check won't be solving the underlying root of the problem. Offenders will then quickly be confronted with the nature of their offense -- always with the goal of having a profound and hopefully productive impact on their future behavior."

His alternative sentencing thrust Judge Brown into the national spotlight, and his recognition was further intensified after he was assigned to reopen the case of the late James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of the late Martin Luther King, Jr. Since Judge Brown's retirement from the bench in Memphis, television now serves as his court full-time, and viewers nationwide witness real cases in a real courtroom with real resolutions.

Holly Evans serves as his bailiff. Jacque Kessler, former NBC affiliate reporter from Albuquerque, New Mexico, serves as the court reporter. Judge Joe Brown is a Big Ticket Television production and is distributed by Paramount Domestic Television. Big Ticket is a Paramount/Viacom company. Peter Brennan is executive producer.

JUDGE JOE BROWN
P.O. Box 949
Los Angeles, CA 90078

Friday

Case #: 111200905

A scheme to get cash involves an ownership swap, a title loan on a truck and the help of a young boyfriend

Case #: 211200906

A mother and sister seek repayment for bus and plane tickets

Case #: 311200907

Former friends argue over expensive music equipment

Case #: 411200908

A man sues his ex-girlfriend for a gas bill

Monday

Case #: 111230905

A man sues a woman for the return of an expensive cell phone

Case #: 211230906

A car deal goes bad and destroys a friendship

Case #: 311230907

A woman sues her son for truck payments

Case #: 411230908

Litigants argue over stolen money and missing jewelry

Tuesday

Case #: 111240905

A confrontation between cousins ends in car vandalism

Case #: 211240906

A woman helps a friend save his family's rent-controlled home

Case #: 311240907

A long night out leads to a car wreck, personal injury and an insurance nightmare

Case #: 411240908

A man sues his son-in-law for an unpaid loan

Wednesday

Case #: 111250905

An encounter between a pit bull and a beagle results in a fused leg and permanent limp for the beagle

Case #: 211250906

Former friends fight over hardware

Case #: 311250907

An Avon order gone bad erupts into a fight and a request for restraining orders

Case #: 411250908

Former friends argue over the pawning of a rare bass guitar

Thursday

Case #: 111260905

A yearbook picture is the catalyst for a fist fight between students

Case #: 211260906

Singer Cuba Gooding Sr. is sued for a refund for a performance

Case #: 311260907

A woman sues her ex for an unpaid loan

Case #: 411260908

A dispute over a loan to make a house payment