A No Jail Deal?

Is the notorious hand doctor going soft? Set to stop fighting flight attendant charges and plead guilty

Disgraced Brown Hand Center doctor Michael Brown appears to be giving up on the ol' prescription sleep aid defense for a January incident during which he allegedly tried to choke a pair of British Airways flight attendants on a trek from London to Miami — and allegedly sexually harassed one to boot.

Since February, the carpal tunnel guru has been building evidence for a not-guilty plea, claiming that the outburst was simply due to a combination of wine and the insomnia medication Restoril. The choking, yelling and threats to get naked in front of passengers all occurred because of a "negative reaction," according to Brown's attorneys.

But new legal paperwork filed in Miami reveals the good doc will change his plea to guilty in a July 16 hearing. No further details are offered.

"There'll be no jail involved with this thing."

Court records confirm that, after posting $250,000 bail in early January, Brown has been required to remain in southern Florida . . . except for litigation purposes, of course. (See here, here, here, here, here and here.)

"The recommendations are going to be that he receive time served," Brown's lawyer Alvin Entin told the Houston Press' Craig Malisow. "There'll be no jail involved with this thing."

Additional court documents also show that the doctor has hired Houston's Jack Zimmermann to serve as co-counsel on the case. The noted defense attorney has garnered some serious recognition through the years, including being dubbed a "Super Lawyer" by Texas Monthly Magazine (Top 5 percent in the state) every year from 2003 to 2012.

In a rare moment of ethical consideration during anything Brown-related, Zimmermann politely told CultureMap that, "in good conscious," he couldn't reveal details about the case before it goes to trial.

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Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

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Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”