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.

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.