Chad Johnson appeared in court on Monday to present a plea deal that would allow him to avoid jail time for a probation violation associated with his domestic violence case. He had already reached a deal with prosecutors that called for community service and counseling instead of jail, but things went south in a hurry with one of the most amazing court stories you will ever hear.
Broward County Circuit Judge Kathleen McHugh had reportedly accepted the deal, tacking on three additional months of probation because of meetings Johnson missed with his probation officer. McHugh then asked Johnson if he was satisfied with his lawyer Adam Swickle, and Johnson responded by patting Swickle on the butt. The gesture resulted in a laughing courtroom and a furious judge, and Johnson was quickly sentenced to 30 days in jail.
TMZ obtained a video of the butt slap and the exchange that followed:
“I don’t know that you’re taking this whole thing seriously,” McHugh said angrily. “I just saw you slap your attorney on the backside. Is there something funny about this? The whole courtroom was laughing. I’m not going to accept these plea negotiations. This isn’t a joke.”
Johnson immediately tried to apologize to McHugh, but the judge had already made up her mind.
“This is your courtroom. I have no intent to make this a joke,” the former NFL receiver said. “It’s not funny. My life is in a shambles right now and I try my best to laugh and keep a smile on my face.”
McHugh then said that it was not the first time Johnson had behaved that way in her courtroom before officers handcuffed him and took him away.
Talk about unbelievable. Johnson has insisted he is a changed man and has reportedly been taking anger management classes to try to get his life on track, but this was a curveball that no one saw coming. To think that the difference between community service and jail time was slapping his lawyer’s butt is truly amazing.
