Hand surgeon Michael Brown looked more crazy-eyed than usual Monday afternoon, as his attorneys attempted to get Harris County judge Sheri Dean to grant him an early release from the 180-day jail sentence he started on March 8.
And why might the courts consider freedom for a man who blatantly disregarded an order to not spend extravagantly during his pending divorce from Rachel Brown? A gentleman who doesn't consider buying two yachts and three mansions "out of reason" while he avoids paying child support?
"I don't enjoy putting people in jail or keeping them there," the judge said. "But he needs to do more . . . Come back and tell me he's done something."
According to his legal team, Brown needs be released to assist with the current financial reorganization of his lucrative Brown Hand Center empire. Oh yeah, and he has E. coli.
Considering Brown still hasn't paid for his wife's expenses, Judge Dean promptly refused the request. And while she was sorry to hear about Brown's "medical problem," she flatly noted that the sudden jump into prison life can be a shock a new inmate's immune system.
"I don't enjoy putting people in jail or keeping them there," she said. "But he needs to do more . . . Come back and tell me he's done something."
In an effort to move along the never-ending divorce proceedings, Dean required the two parties to continue talks Monday afternoon. Another hearing to review Brown's jail stay was scheduled for April 4.
The doctor's jail sentence is scheduled to last through September.
