History Series / JudgeJoeBrown

** May 26, 2010: An 18-year-old man sues his mother for [[BornUnlucky draining an $8,000 college fund awarded to him in a lead poisoning settlement when he was 16]]. Brown doesn't hesitate to interrogate the defendant about where the money went, and she claims [[ItsAllAboutMe she spent it on a new car after hers broke down when they were moving]], and tries to argue that this purchase ultimately benefited the plaintiff. Brown points out [[LogicalFallacy the obvious fallacy]] that it couldn't have benefited the plaintiff ''that much'' if he (and all but one of his siblings) was already old enough to drive, and then explains that [[UsefulNotes/StayingOutOfLegalTrouble she was supposed to obtain permission from a probate court to use the money in this manner]]. The defendant's stepdaughter then testifies as a witness for the plaintiff, alleging that [[Main/FromBadToWorse a fraud investigation was underway for a credit card opened in her name with the defendant's address and phone number]], causing Brown to chastise the defendant for [[Main/OnlyInItForTheMoney taking advantage of her own children to make money for herself]] and laments that [[Main/PutOnAPrisonBus she deserves to go to jail for these offenses]]. Needless to say, he awards the plaintiff $8,000.

* Main/AccentInterest: Brown has a ''very'' distinctive Tennessean accent.
* Main/AllJustAPrank:
** At least two cases have been confirmed to be faked by [[Main/FriendlyScheming the parties involved]] in order to [[Main/GetRichQuickScheme make some quick cash]]: [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SQyfyIljttM A 1999 case about a painting damaged at a rock concert]], and [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bpOk20BpqXU a 2006 case about transvestite strippers hired for a bachelor party]]. In both instances, Brown ruled in favor of the plaintiff for the full amount they asked for, based on [[Main/OverlyPrePreparedGag the strength of their fabricated evidence]].
** A [[Main/SubvertedTrope Subverted]] example from the February 14, 2000 episode: The plaintiff sues her former friend, alleging that she damaged her property during a fight they had in the aftermath of a daytime talk show appearance. The plaintiff claims that, to get onto the show, they faked a story about the defendant sleeping with her boyfriend, only to find out shortly after the taping ended that [[Main/OpenSecret the defendant actually]] ''[[Main/OpenSecret did]]'' [[Main/OpenSecret sleep with him]]. Brown is '''immediately''' skeptical of this story, pointing out that if all three of them were so eager to fake that story to get onto the talk show, then [[Main/CryingWolf what was to stop them from faking]] ''[[Main/CryingWolf this]]'' [[Main/CryingWolf story to get onto his show?]] He ultimately [[Main/TheCon accuses them of trying to squeeze free money out of him]] and dismisses the case.

* NoListeningSkills: The first case on the July 19, 2010 episode involved a woman suing her witness’ friend over the sale of a used car after the engine dies 5 hours later, but her testimony RAPIDLY falls apart when she admits to calling her witness when the oil light came on a couple of hours later, [[Main/TooDumbToLive continued to drive the car anyway]], and then called her witness again when the engine died 3 hours later. The defendant claims that, at pickup, he tried to tell the plaintiff that the car needed an oil change immediately because it had sat unused for a year, but she quickly brushed it off and [[Main/EasilyDistracted was more preoccupied with tuning the radio]] and [[Main/PhoneaholicTeenager chatting on her cell phone]] over anything he said. Cue the testimony from the plaintiff’s witness, and she proceeds to ''[[Main/NotHelpingYourCase back up everything the defendant said]]'', and adds that before the plaintiff drove off, the defendant told her what he '''tried''' to tell the plaintiff, and she relayed this information to the plaintiff when she called her about the oil light a couple of hours later. Brown is ''genuinely baffled'' at how the plaintiff refused to listen to '''anybody''' and not only ruined the engine as a result, but also [[Main/EpicFail brought in a witness that validated the defendant’s testimony]]. To the surprise of absolutely no one, he dismisses the case.

* TheAnnouncer: [[VoiceOfDramatic Ben Patrick Johnson]] in seasons 1-7, then Rolonda Watts for the remainder of the run.

* Main/ClusterFBomb:
** October 20, 1998: A woman sues her ex-boyfriend for assault, but fails to adequately explain how someone like him (who walks with a cane) could possibly have the physical prowess to cause the injuries she claims he did, while the defendant alleges that she’s hot-tempered and any hit to her was done in self-defense. When it becomes clear that Brown is about to dismiss the case, the plaintiff suddenly [[Main/MicDrop throws her mic to the ground]], [[Main/ScrewThisImOuttaHere begins to storm out]], and then cusses out both the defendant and Brown before Holly finishes dragging her out of the courtroom, prompting Brown to slyly remark “[[Main/NotHelpingYourCase ma'am, I think you're illustrating his point now!]]”
** February 11, 2010: A defendant being sued for a hit-and-run accident with a rental car gets yelled at by Brown for claiming to have nothing to do with it [[Main/CaughtOnTape despite overwhelming evidence that he has a history of crashing rental cars]]. When Brown says that he’ll send the evidence over to the district attorney, the defendant proceeds to cuss him out, [[Main/ScrewThisImOuttaHere storm out]], and then [[Main/TooDumbToLive makes a censored threat towards Brown]] before exiting the courtroom.

* DidntThinkThisThrough: One of the most ridiculous cases in the show’s history happened on the September 23, 1998 episode, in which a jilted bride sues her ex-boyfriend for wedding expenses, while he countersues for harassment. It quickly becomes apparent that the defendant never had any interest in marrying the plaintiff and repeatedly told her this, but when presented with [[Main/CaughtOnTape evidence that he applied for a marriage license with her and attended the wedding rehearsal]], his defense is that [[Main/TooDumbToLive he did these things because he thought she’d finally leave him alone about marrying her]]. Nevertheless, the tables quickly turn on the plaintiff when it’s revealed that her and the defendant weren’t even living together in the time leading up to the wedding ''and'' she hadn’t met any of the defendant’s family members, and once she admits that ''she didn’t even visit the defendant’s new address '''a single time before the wedding''''', [[Main/RageBreakingPoint Brown declares that he’s had enough]] and dismisses both cases.
* Main/EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The earliest-taped episodes of the first season, which resurfaced on Creator/PlutoTV in 2021, featured a number of differences compared to the rest of the series: Brown had an [[Main/OlderThanTheyLook undyed gray mustache]], Holly introduced Brown as “the honorable Joe Brown, judge presiding” instead of the familiar “the honorable Judge Joe Brown presiding”, and Jacque offered commentary going '''into''' commercial in addition to the usual commentary coming out of commercial.
* Main/EpicFail: The May 18, 1999 episode featured a case where a woman sues her ex-husband for breaking her camera during a child pickup in front of their children’s school, claiming that he deliberately assaulted her and [[Main/CaughtOnTape she has the tape to prove it]]. The defendant alleges that the plaintiff was actually the aggressor in this situation, and not only was she ''not'' supposed to pick the kids up at that time and location, but he only broke the camera because [[Main/PsychoExGirlfriend she kept taunting him, repeatedly refused to back away from him, and then started to hit him]], prompting him to act in self-defense. The tape is played, and it proves that ''[[Main/NotHelpingYourCase everything said by the defendant was true]]''. Brown is '''genuinely amazed''' that the plaintiff was [[Main/TooDumbToLive stupid enough to bring in evidence that validated the defendant’s testimony]], and promptly dismisses the case. To add insult to injury, the humiliated plaintiff claims that [[Main/NeverMyFault it was her current husband’s stupid idea to even file the case to begin with]], then [[Main/TheExitIsThatWay tries exiting through the wrong door]] and [[Main/FlippingTheBird cusses at Holly]] when she corrects her.

** May 20, 1999: A woman sues her son and daughter-in-law for an unpaid loan, but it quickly becomes obvious that [[Main/ObnoxiousInLaws she doesn’t particularly care for her daughter-in-law]]. This gets cranked up to eleven when the defendants [[Main/CaughtOnTape play back a half-dozen answering machine messages]] where the plaintiff drops numerous [[Main/ClusterFBomb Cluster F-Bombs]], [[Main/TrashTalk repeatedly insults her daughter-in-law]], [[Main/BlackMail threatens to tell the daughter-in-law’s parents about the abortion she paid for]], claims that her son was having an affair, and [[Main/ConvictedByPublicOpinion threatens to ruin the couple’s reputation within the community they live in]]. Brown is ENRAGED that the plaintiff would try to sabotage her son’s marriage just because of her personal beef with her daughter-in-law, and points out to the defendants that they ''very easily'' could’ve won a countersuit for harassment had they filed one. Nevertheless, [[Main/LawfulGood he puts his personal feelings towards the plaintiff aside]] and awards her the $1,250 she proved the defendants owed.
** May 26, 2010: An 18-year-old man sues his mother for [[Main/BornUnlucky draining an $8,000 college fund awarded to him in a lead poisoning settlement when he was 16]]. Brown doesn’t hesitate to interrogate the defendant about where the money went, and she claims [[Main/ItsAllAboutMe she spent it on a new car after hers broke down when they were moving]], and tries to argue that this purchase ultimately benefitted the plaintiff. Brown points out [[Main/LogicalFallacy the obvious fallacy]] that it couldn’t have benefitted the plaintiff ''that much'' if he (and all but one of his siblings) was already old enough to drive, and then explains that [[UsefulNotes/StayingOutOfLegalTrouble she was supposed to obtain permission from a probate court to use the money in this manner]]. The defendant’s stepdaughter then testifies as a witness for the plaintiff, alleging that [[Main/FromBadToWorse a fraud investigation was underway for a credit card opened in her name with the defendant’s address and phone number]], causing Brown to chastise the defendant for [[Main/OnlyInItForTheMoney taking advantage of her own children to make money for herself]] and laments that [[Main/PutOnAPrisonBus she deserves to go to jail for these offenses]]. Needless to say, he awards the plaintiff $8,000.

** May 20, 1999: A woman sues her son and daughter-in-law for an unpaid loan, but it quickly becomes obvious that [[Main/ObnoxiousInLaws she doesn’t particularly care for her daughter-in-law]]. This gets cranked Main/UpToEleven when the defendants [[Main/CaughtOnTape play back a half-dozen answering machine messages]] where the plaintiff drops numerous [[Main/ClusterFBomb Cluster F-Bombs]], [[Main/TrashTalk repeatedly insults her daughter-in-law]], [[Main/BlackMail threatens to tell the daughter-in-law’s parents about the abortion she paid for]], claims that her son was having an affair, and [[Main/ConvictedByPublicOpinion threatens to ruin the couple’s reputation within the community they live in]]. Brown is ENRAGED that the plaintiff would try to sabotage her son’s marriage just because of her personal beef with her daughter-in-law, and points out to the defendants that they ''very easily'' could’ve won a countersuit for harassment had they filed one. Nevertheless, [[Main/LawfulGood he puts his personal feelings towards the plaintiff aside]] and awards her the $1,250 she proved the defendants owed.

* LadyLooksLikeADude: The defendant on the November 8, 2004 episode was a 24-year-old lesbian [[Main/TeenagePregnancy who had been a teen mom]], and she brought in her masculine-looking girlfriend as a witness. Brown remarked that [[Main/ScrewPolitenessImASenior the defendant wanted her witness to be “the father to [her] child” and that she was “supposed to be a man”]], prompting the witness to angrily jump out of her seat and [[Main/UpToEleven pull up her top to show that she was wearing a bra underneath]].

** November 8, 2004: In a seemingly cut-and-dry case about a mother who loaned her 24-year-old daughter $1,030 for rent, the daughter turns out to be '''easily''' the most disrespectful defendant in the history of the show, if not ''any'' court show ever: She proceeds to [[Main/NoIndoorVoice scream at the top of her lungs for nearly the entire episode]], [[Main/RapidFireInterrupting interrupt the plaintiff and Brown at every available opportunity]], repeatedly mock Holly and the Main/StudioAudience, and drop a series of [[Main/ClusterFBomb Cluster F-Bombs]] over the course of the half-hour. Things go Main/FromBadToWorse when [[Main/OnlyInItForTheMoney she brags about how her mother and the welfare state pay for everything she has]], then promptly [[Main/TheHypocrite criticizes her mother for only caring about money]]. And then when Brown offers a [[Main/HappinessInSlavery slave mentality]] analogy to the way she behaves, the defendant interjects that [[Main/CompletelyMissingThePoint she was descended from Panamanians who weren’t enslaved]] and [[Main/ItsAllAboutMe doesn’t care about what happens to other black people]], then she repeatedly whines that [[Main/GetItOverWith Brown should just end the case already]]. Brown '''somehow''' [[Main/DissonantSerenity stays surprisingly calm the entire time]], but ultimately gets the last laugh when he [[Main/TakeThat boosts the plaintiff’s award to $2,580]] and [[SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome offers to send the plaintiff a tape of the episode to convince Child Protective Services that the custody of her daughter’s child should be transferred from the defendant to her]].

** A [[Main/SubvertedTrope Subverted]] example from the February 14, 2000 episode: The plaintiff sues her former friend, alleging that she damaged her property during a fight they had in the aftermath of a daytime talk show appearance. The plaintiff claims that, to get onto the show, they faked a story about [[Main/YourCheatingHeart the defendant sleeping with her boyfriend]], only to find out shortly after the taping ended that [[Main/OpenSecret the defendant actually]] ''[[Main/OpenSecret did]]'' [[Main/OpenSecret sleep with him]]. Brown is '''immediately''' skeptical of this story, pointing out that if all three of them were so eager to fake that story to get onto the talk show, then [[Main/CryingWolf what was to stop them from faking]] ''[[Main/CryingWolf this]]'' [[Main/CryingWolf story to get onto his show?]] He ultimately [[Main/TheCon accuses them of trying to squeeze free money out of him]] and dismisses the case.

** May 20, 1999: A woman sues her son and daughter-in-law for an unpaid loan, but it quickly becomes obvious that [[Main/ObnoxiousInLaws she doesn’t particularly care for her daughter-in-law]]. This gets cranked Main/UpToEleven when the defendants [[Main/CaughtOnTape play back a half-dozen answering machine messages]] where the plaintiff drops numerous [[Main/ClusterFBomb Cluster F-Bombs]], [[Main/TrashTalk repeatedly insults her daughter-in-law]], [[Main/BlackMail threatens to tell the daughter-in-law’s parents about the abortion she paid for]], [[Main/YourCheatingHeart claims that her son was having an affair]], and [[Main/ConvictedByPublicOpinion threatens to ruin the couple’s reputation within the community they live in]]. Brown is ENRAGED that the plaintiff would try to sabotage her son’s marriage just because of her personal beef with her daughter-in-law, and points out to the defendants that they ''very easily'' could’ve won a countersuit for harassment had they filed one. Nevertheless, [[Main/LawfulGood he puts his personal feelings towards the plaintiff aside]] and awards her the $1,250 she proved the defendants owed.

** February 11, 2010: A defendant being sued for a hit-and-run accident with a rental car gets yelled at by Brown for claiming to have nothing to do with it [[Main/CaughtOnTape despite overwhelming evidence that he has a history of crashing rental cars]]. When Brown says that he’ll send the evidence over to the district attorney, the defendant proceeds to cuss him out, [[Main/ScrewThisImOuttaHere storm out]], and then [[Main/WhatAnIdiot makes a censored threat towards Brown]] before exiting the courtroom.

* PutOnAPrisonBus: One of the WILDEST cases in the show’s history from circa 2004 involved a plaintiff suing his aunt for his belongings after she evicted him, while the aunt countersues for the money she paid for the plaintiff’s education. Within minutes, [[Main/WhatAnIdiot the plaintiff nonchalantly admits to being a pothead who deals drugs in order to pay his bills without seeking a full-time job]], culminating in an [[Main/SuddenlyShouting outright shouting match]] between the plaintiff, the defendant, and the defendant’s boyfriend over his laziness. The defendant then reveals that [[Main/FromBadToWorse she’s been withholding the part-time income brought in by both the plaintiff and her boyfriend in her welfare forms]], then [[Main/EvilAllAlong spending the welfare money intended for her 6 children on both the plaintiff and her boyfriend instead]]. As another shouting match begins to break out, Brown yells over the litigants that they shouldn’t reveal any more information since they’re probably going straight to jail with [[Main/DidntThinkThisThrough what they’ve already confessed on national television]], dismissing both cases.

** May 20, 2011: A couple who leased an apartment to the defendant sues him for property damage after he trashed the apartment, but he claims that the landlords are actually slumlords who left the apartment in such poor condition to begin with. The defendant attempts to vocally rebuff Brown grilling him for how implausible his version of the story is, but in the process, [[Main/WhatAnIdiot he blurts out “that was out of resentment”, effectively admitting that he damaged the apartment himself]]. Brown then RIDICULES the defendant for self-incriminating himself because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut and [[Main/TakeThat awards the plaintiffs the $5,000 maximum]].

* DidntThinkThisThrough: One of the most ridiculous cases in the show’s history happened on the September 23, 1998 episode, in which a jilted bride sues her ex-boyfriend for wedding expenses, while he countersues for harassment. It quickly becomes apparent that the defendant never had any interest in marrying the plaintiff and repeatedly told her this, but when presented with [[Main/CaughtOnTape evidence that he applied for a marriage license with her and attended the wedding rehearsal]], his defense is that [[Main/TooDumbToLive he did these things because he thought she’d finally leave him alone about marrying her]]. Nevertheless, the tables quickly turn on the plaintiff when it’s revealed that her and the defendant weren’t even living together in the time leading up to the wedding, and once she admits that ''she didn’t even know the defendant’s whereabouts '''the night before the wedding''''', [[Main/RageBreakingPoint Brown declares that he’s had enough]] and dismisses both cases.

** May 26, 2010: An 18-year-old man sues his mother for [[Main/BornUnlucky draining an $8,000 college fund awarded to him in a lead poisoning settlement when he was 16]]. Brown doesn’t hesitate to interrogate the defendant about where the money went, and she claims [[Main/ItsAllAboutMe she spent it on a new car after hers broke down when they were moving]], and tries to argue that this purchase ultimately benefitted the plaintiff. Brown points out [[Main/LogicalFallacy the obvious fallacy]] that it couldn’t have benefitted the plaintiff ''that much'' if he (and all but one of his siblings) was already old enough to drive, and then explains that [[UsefulNotes/StayingOutOfLegalTrouble she was supposed to obtain permission from a probate court to use the money in this manner]]. The defendant’s stepdaughter then testifies as a witness for the plaintiff, alleging that [[Main/FromBadToWorse a fraud investigation was underway for a credit card opened in her name with the defendant’s address and phone number]], causing Brown to chastise the defendant for [[Main/MoneyDearBoy taking advantage of her own children to make money for herself]] and laments that [[Main/PutOnAPrisonBus she deserves to go to jail for these offenses]]. Needless to say, he awards the plaintiff $8,000.

** November 8, 2004: In a seemingly cut-and-dry case about a mother who loaned her 24-year-old daughter $1,030 for rent, the daughter turns out to be '''easily''' the most disrespectful defendant in the history of the show, if not ''any'' court show ever: She proceeds to [[Main/NoIndoorVoice scream at the top of her lungs for nearly the entire episode]], [[Main/RapidFireInterrupting interrupt the plaintiff and Brown at every available opportunity]], repeatedly mock Holly and the Main/StudioAudience, and drop a series of [[Main/ClusterFBomb Cluster F-Bombs]] over the course of the half-hour. Things go Main/FromBadToWorse when [[Main/MoneyDearBoy she brags about how her mother and the welfare state pay for everything she has]], then promptly [[Main/TheHypocrite criticizes her mother for only caring about money]]. And then when Brown offers a [[Main/HappinessInSlavery slave mentality]] analogy to the way she behaves, the defendant interjects that [[Main/CompletelyMissingThePoint she was descended from Panamanians who weren’t enslaved]] and [[Main/ItsAllAboutMe doesn’t care about what happens to other black people]], then she repeatedly whines that [[Main/GetItOverWith Brown should just end the case already]]. Brown '''somehow''' [[Main/DissonantSerenity stays surprisingly calm the entire time]], but ultimately gets the last laugh when he [[Main/TakeThat boosts the plaintiff’s award to $2,580]] and [[SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome offers to send the plaintiff a tape of the episode to convince Child Protective Services that the custody of her daughter’s child should be transferred from the defendant to her]].

** A compassionate [[Main/SubvertedTrope Subversion]] of this trope is seen in cases where children are brought in as witnesses to disputes between separated parents and/or subject matter inappropriate for their age. In these instances, Brown politely asks the children to be escorted out of the courtroom by the bailiff and brings them back in only if their testimony is needed to validate his ruling.

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* Main/BerserkButton: Brown is generally laidback compared to the likes of Series/JudgeJudy, but [[Main/ConMan con artists]], domestic abusers, welfare fraudsters, and '''especially''' perpetuators of the “hip hop lifestyle” are virtually guaranteed to [[Main/SuddenlyShouting set him off into a yelling fit]]. Litigants who [[Main/RapidFireInterrupting constantly interrupt the other party's testimony]] and talk back to Brown also draw his ire.

** February 11, 2010: A defendant being sued for a hit-and-run accident with a rental car gets yelled at by Brown for claiming to have nothing to do with it [[Main/CaughtOnTape despite overwhelming evidence that he has a history of crashing rental cars]]. When Brown says that he’ll send the evidence over to the district attorney, the defendant proceeds to cuss him out, [[Main/ScrewThisImOuttaHere storms out]], and then [[Main/WhatAnIdiot makes a censored threat towards Brown]] before exiting the courtroom.

** May 26, 2010: An 18-year-old man sues his mother for [[Main/BornUnlucky draining an $8,000 college fund awarded to him in a lead poisoning settlement when he was 16]]. Brown doesn’t hesitate to interrogate the defendant about where the money went, and she claims [[Main/ItsAllAboutMe she spent it on a new car after hers broke down when they were moving]], and tries to argue that this purchase ultimately benefitted the plaintiff. Brown points out [[Main/LogicalFallacy the obvious fallacy]] that it couldn’t have benefitted the plaintiff ''that much'' if he (and all but one of his siblings) was already old enough to drive, and then explains that [[UsefulNotes/StayingOutOfLegalTrouble she was supposed to obtain permission from a probate court to use the money in this manner]]. The defendant’s stepdaughter then testifies as a witness for the plaintiff, alleging that [[Main/FromBadToWorse a fraud investigation was underway for a credit card opened in her name with the defendant’s address and phone number]], causing Brown to chastise the defendant for [[Main/OnlyInItForTheMoney taking advantage of her own children to make money for herself]] and laments that [[Main/PutOnAPrisonBus she deserves to go to jail for these offenses]]. Needless to say, he awards the plaintiff $8,000.

** November 8, 2004: In a seemingly cut-and-dry case about a mother who loaned her 24-year-old daughter $1,030 for rent, the daughter turns out to be '''easily''' the most disrespectful defendant in the history of the show, if not ''any'' court show ever: She proceeds to [[Main/NoIndoorVoice scream at the top of her lungs for nearly the entire episode]], [[Main/RapidFireInterrupting interrupt the plaintiff and Brown at every available opportunity]], repeatedly mock Holly and the Main/StudioAudience, and drop a series of [[Main/ClusterFBomb Cluster F-Bombs]] over the course of the half-hour. Things go Main/FromBadToWorse when [[Main/OnlyInItForTheMoney she brags about how her mother and the welfare state pay for everything she has]], then promptly [[Main/TheHypocrite criticizes her mother for only caring about money]]. And then when Brown offers a [[Main/HappinessInSlavery slave mentality]] analogy to the way she behaves, the defendant interjects that [[Main/CompletelyMissingThePoint she was descended from Panamanians who weren’t enslaved]] and [[Main/ItsAllAboutMe doesn’t care about what happens to other black people]], then she repeatedly whines that [[Main/GetItOverWith Brown should just end the case already]]. Brown '''somehow''' [[Main/DissonantSerenity stays surprisingly calm the entire time]], but ultimately gets the last laugh when he [[Main/TakeThat boosts the plaintiff’s award to $2,580]] and [[SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome offers to send the plaintiff a tape of the episode to convince Child Protective Services that the custody of her daughter’s child should be transferred from the defendant to her]].

** May 26, 2010: An 18-year-old man sues his mother for [[Main/BornUnlucky draining an $8,000 college fund awarded to him in a lead poisoning settlement when he was 16]]. Brown doesn’t hesitate to interrogate the defendant about where the money went, and she claims [[Main/ItsAllAboutMe she spent it on a new car after hers broke down when they were moving]], and tries to argue that this purchase ultimately benefitted the plaintiff. Brown points out [[Main/LogicalFallacy the obvious fallacy]] that it couldn’t have benefitted the plaintiff that much if he (and all but one of his siblings) was already old enough to drive, and then explains that [[UsefulNotes/StayingOutOfLegalTrouble she needed to obtain permission from a probate court to use the money in this manner]]. The defendant’s stepdaughter then testifies as a witness for the plaintiff, alleging that [[Main/FromBadToWorse a fraud investigation was underway for a credit card opened in her name with the defendant’s address and phone number]], causing Brown to chastise the defendant for [[Main/OnlyInItForTheMoney taking advantage of her own children to make money for herself]] and laments that [[Main/PutOnAPrisonBus she deserves to go to jail for these offenses]]. Needless to say, he awards the plaintiff $8,000.

** A [[Main/SubvertedTrope Subverted]] example from the February 14, 2000 episode: The plaintiff sues her former friend, alleging that she damaged her property during a fight they had in the aftermath of a daytime talk show appearance. The plaintiff claims that, to get onto the show, they faked a story about how the defendant slept with her boyfriend, only to find out shortly after the taping ended that [[Main/OpenSecret the defendant actually]] ''[[Main/OpenSecret did]]'' [[Main/OpenSecret sleep with him]]. Brown is '''immediately''' skeptical of this story, pointing out that if all three of them were so eager to fake that story to get onto the talk show, then [[Main/CryingWolf what was to stop them from faking]] ''[[Main/CryingWolf this]]'' [[Main/CryingWolf story to get onto his show]]? He ultimately [[Main/TheCon accuses them of trying to squeeze free money out of him]] and dismisses the case.

** May 26, 2010: An 18-year-old man sues his mother for [[Main/BornUnlucky draining an $8,000 college fund awarded to him in a lead poisoning settlement when he was 16]]. Brown doesn’t hesitate to interrogate the defendant about where the money went, and she claims [[Main/ItsAllAboutMe she spent it on a new car after hers broke down when they were moving]] and tries to argue that this purchase ultimately benefitted the plaintiff. Brown points out [[Main/LogicalFallacy the obvious fallacy]] that it couldn’t have benefitted the plaintiff that much if he (and all but one of his siblings) was already old enough to drive, and then explains that [[UsefulNotes/StayingOutOfLegalTrouble she needed to obtain permission from a probate court to use the money in this manner]]. The defendant’s stepdaughter then testifies as a witness for the plaintiff, alleging that [[Main/FromBadToWorse a fraud investigation was underway for a credit card opened in her name with the defendant’s address and phone number]], causing Brown to chastise the defendant for [[Main/OnlyInItForTheMoney taking advantage of her own children to make money for herself]] and laments that [[Main/PutOnAPrisonBus she deserves to go to jail for these offenses]]. Needless to say, he awards the plaintiff $8,000.

* PutOnAPrisonBus: One of the WILDEST cases in the show’s history from circa 2004 involved a plaintiff suing his aunt for his belongings after she evicted him, while the aunt countersues for the money she paid for the plaintiff’s education. Within minutes, [[Main/WhatAnIdiot the plaintiff nonchalantly admits to being a pothead who deals drugs in order to pay his bills without seeking a full-time job]], culminating with an [[Main/SuddenlyShouting outright shouting match]] between the plaintiff, the defendant, and the defendant’s boyfriend over his laziness. The defendant then reveals that [[Main/FromBadToWorse she’s been withholding the part-time income brought in by both the plaintiff and her boyfriend in her welfare forms]], then [[Main/EvilAllAlong spending the welfare money intended for her 6 children on both the plaintiff and her boyfriend instead]]. As another shouting match begins to break out, Brown yells over the litigants that they shouldn’t reveal any more information since they’re probably going straight to jail with [[Main/DidntThinkThisThrough what they’ve already confessed on national television]], dismissing both cases.

** May 20, 2011: A couple who leased an apartment to the defendant sues him for property damage after he trashed the apartment, but he claims that the landlords are actually slumlords who left the apartment in such poor condition to begin with. The defendant attempts to vocally rebuff Brown grilling him for how implausible his version of the story is, but in the process, he [[Main/WhatAnIdiot blurts out “that was out of resentment”, effectively admitting that he damaged the apartment himself]]. Brown then RIDICULES the defendant for self-incriminating himself because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut and [[Main/TakeThat awards the plaintiffs the $5,000 maximum]].

** May 20, 1999: A woman sues her son and daughter-in-law for an unpaid loan, but it quickly becomes obvious that [[Main/ObnoxiousInLaws she doesn’t particularly care for her daughter-in-law]]. This gets cranked Main/UpToEleven when the defendants [[Main/CaughtOnTape play back a half-dozen answering machine messages]] where the plaintiff drops numerous [[Main/ClusterFBomb Cluster F-Bombs]], [[Main/TrashTalk repeatedly insults her daughter-in-law]], [[Main/BlackMail threatens to tell the daughter-in-law’s parents about the abortion she paid for]], [[Main/YourCheatingHeart claims that her son was having an affair]], and [[Main/ConvictedByPublicOpinion threatens to ruin the couple’s reputation within the community they live in]]. Brown is ENRAGED that the plaintiff would try to sabotage her son’s marriage just because of her personal beef with her daughter-in-law, and points out to the defendants that they very easily could’ve won a countersuit for harassment had they filed one. Nevertheless, [[Main/LawfulGood he puts his personal feelings towards the plaintiff aside]] and awards her the $1,250 she proved that the defendants owed.

** October 20, 1998: A woman sues her ex-boyfriend for assault, but fails to adequately explain how someone like him (who walks with a cane) could possibly have the physical prowess to cause the injuries she claims he did, while the defendant alleges that she’s hot-tempered and any hit to her was done in self-defense. When it becomes clear that Brown is about to dismiss the case, the plaintiff suddenly [[Main/MicDrop throws her mic to the ground]], [[Main/ScrewThisImOuttaHere begins to storm out]], and then cusses out both the defendant and Brown before Holly finishes dragging her out of the courtroom, prompting Brown to slyly remark “ma'am, I think you're illustrating his point now!”

** November 8, 2004: In a seemingly cut-and-dry case about a mother who loaned her 24-year-old daughter $1,030 for rent, the daughter turns out to be '''easily''' the most disrespectful defendant in the history of the show, if not ''any'' court show ever: She proceeds to [[Main/NoIndoorVoice scream at the top of her lungs for nearly the entire episode]], [[Main/RapidFireInterrupting interrupt the plaintiff and Brown at every available opportunity]], repeatedly mock Holly and the Main/StudioAudience, and drop a series of [[Main/ClusterFBomb Cluster F-Bombs]] over the course of the half-hour. Things go Main/FromBadToWorse when [[Main/OnlyInItForTheMoney she brags about how her mother and the welfare state pay for everything she has]], then promptly [[Main/TheHypocrite criticizes her mother for only caring about money]]. And then when Brown offers a [[Main/HappinessInSlavery slave mentality]] analogy to the way she behaves, the defendant interjects that [[Main/CompletelyMissingThePoint she was descended from Panamanians who weren’t enslaved]] and [[Main/ItsAllAboutMe doesn’t care about what happens to other black people]], then she repeatedly whines that [[Main/GetItOverWith Brown should just end the case already]]. Brown '''somehow''' [[Main/DissonantSerenity stays surprisingly calm the entire time]], but ultimately gets the last laugh when he [[Main/TakeThat boosts the plaintiff’s award to $2,580]] and [[SugarWiki/CrowningMomentOfAwesome offers to send the plaintiff a tape of the episode to show Child Protective Services in order for custody of her daughter’s child to be transferred from the defendant to her]].

* Main/BerserkButton: Brown is generally laidback compared to the likes of Series/JudgeJudy, but con artists, domestic abusers, welfare fraudsters, and '''especially''' perpetuators of the “hip hop lifestyle” are virtually guaranteed to set him off into a yelling fit. Litigants who constantly interrupt the other party's testimony and talk back to Brown also draw his ire.

* LadyLooksLikeADude: The defendant on the November 8, 2004 episode was a lesbian in her mid-20s [[Main/TeenagePregnancy who had been a teen mom]], and she brought in her masculine-looking girlfriend as a witness. Brown remarked that [[Main/ScrewPolitenessImASenior the defendant wanted her witness to be “the father to [her] child” and that she was “supposed to be a man”]], prompting the witness to angrily jump out of her seat and [[Main/UpToEleven pull up her top to show that she was wearing a bra underneath]].

** May 5, 1999: Brown is about to rule on a cut-and-dry case about an unpaid car loan between siblings totalling $3,379.08, but right before the gavel comes down, the defendant mutters that he has the moral ground over his sister. Brown IMMEDIATELY rebukes the defendant for saying this, prompting the defendant to angrily remark “make your ruling!”, before quickly making an Main/OhCrap facial expression and [[Main/DidIJustSayThatOutLoud exclaiming “I shouldn't have said that!”]] Brown '''completely''' throws the book at the defendant and chastises him for having neither the legal nor the moral ground in this case, then [[Main/TakeThat boosts the plaintiff’s award to $4,500]] in retaliation for showing such blatant disrespect towards the court.

** The March 24, 1999 episode is notable for featuring former ''[[Series/StarCade Starcade]]'' host and [[Main/TheEighties ‘80s]] San Francisco TV personality Mark Richards as the defendant, in a case about child support owed for a 16-year-old daughter who he didn’t know about until the case was filed, [[Main/HarsherInHindsight and, mathematically, was conceived at the height of his TV career]]. No mention is made of his long-over-by-then TV career, but a side-by-side comparison proves that it is '''clearly''' the same Mark Richards.

** May 5, 1999: Brown is about to rule on a cut-and-dry case about an unpaid car loan between siblings totalling $3,379.08, but right before the gavel comes down, the defendant mutters that he has the moral ground over his sister. Brown IMMEDIATELY rebukes the defendant for saying this, prompting the defendant to angrily remark “make your ruling!”, before quickly making an Main/OhCrap facial expression and [[Main/DidIJustSayThatOutLoud exclaiming “I shouldn't have said that!”]]. Brown '''completely''' throws the book at the defendant and chastises him for having neither the legal nor the moral ground in this case, then [[Main/TakeThat boosts the plaintiff’s award to $4,500]] in retaliation for showing such blatant disrespect towards the court.

** The [[Main/StudioAudience Studio Audience]] would frequently applaud whenever they agreed with a point that Brown made, especially if it was a statement that [[Main/HumiliationConga insulted the litigant who Brown considered liable]].

* Main/EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The earliest-taped episodes of the first season, which resurfaced on [[Creator/PlutoTV Pluto TV]] in 2021, featured a number of differences compared to the rest of the series: Brown had an [[Main/OlderThanTheyLook undyed gray mustache]], Holly introduced Brown as “the honorable Joe Brown, judge presiding” instead of the familiar “the honorable Judge Joe Brown presiding”, and Jacque offered commentary going '''into''' commercial in addition to the usual commentary coming out of commercial.

* Main/RearrangeTheSong: A drum machine was added to the opening theme in 2002, then the theme song was remade entirely with a hip hop arrangement in 2004, which remained for the rest of the run.

** October 20, 1998: A woman sues her ex-boyfriend for assault, but fails to adequately explain how someone like him (who walks with a cane) could possibly have the physical prowess to cause the injuries she claims he did, while the defendant alleges that she’s hot-tempered and any hit to her was done in self-defense. When it becomes clear that Brown is about to dismiss the case, the plaintiff suddenly [[Main/MicDrop throws her mic to the ground]], [[Main/ScrewThisImOuttaHere begins to storm out]], and then cusses out both the defendant and Brown before Holly finishes dragging her out of the courtroom, prompting Brown to slyly remark “you’re proving his point!”

** The March 24, 1999 episode is notable for featuring former ''Series/Starcade'' host and [[Main/TheEighties ‘80s]] San Francisco TV personality Mark Richards as the defendant, in a case about child support owed for a 16-year-old daughter who he didn’t know about until the case was filed, [[Main/HarsherInHindsight and, mathematically, was conceived at the height of his TV career]]. No mention is made of his long-over-by-then TV career, but a side-by-side comparison proves that it is '''clearly''' the same Mark Richards.