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10:51 AM PT -- Joe has just been sentenced to JAIL.

According to our count, Joe has been ordered to serve at least 270 DAYS in county jail.

He's also been sentenced to 36 months probation and has been ordered to complete a Level 3 Anger Management course.

He's also been ordered to complete 1 year of psychological counseling at a rate of 1 session per week.

During the sentencing, the judge expressed serious concerns with Joe's explosive temper -- and warned that it could get him in trouble in the future unless he learns how to keep his cool.

Bond will be set at $250k.

Joe is currently being handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom.

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10:31 AM PT -- Joe's lawyer is begging the court for mercy.



10:29 AM PT -- Joe's motion for a re-trial has been SHOT DOWN. Now on to sentencing ...



9:53 AM PT -- Joe's lawyer is calling BS on the accusers -- claiming he can now prove the women lied during the trial, and therefore Joe deserves another chance to prove his innocence.



Among Joe's arguments -- he claims the women's story about not having cell phone reception at Joe's mansion are untrue ... and they have the phone records to prove it.

Joe also claims an accuser's story that she was "choke slammed" on Joe's tile floor is impossible because he doesn't have tile anywhere in the house.



9:40 AM PT -- The hearing has begun. Due to courtroom rules for this particular hearing, we will only be livestreaming the audio.



8:57 AM PT -- Francis is inside the courtroom, waiting for his case to be called.



8:50 AM PT -- Francis just arrived at the courthouse with his girlfriend Abbey Wilson. She's hot.





8:41 AM PT -- We're told Francis is on his way to the court -- and should arrive momentarily.

It's D-Day for Joe Francis ... the day the "Girls Gone Wild" mogul will learn his sentence for attacking a woman at his Hollywood mansion back in 2011 ... and he's facing serious time behind bars.

TMZ will be streaming live from inside the L.A. courtroom when Joe faces the judge later today. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 8:30 AM PT.

As we previously reported, 3 women had accused Joe of taking them to his Hollywood home -- following a night out -- and refusing to let them leave. He was also accused of attacking one of the women, choke-slamming her head into his tile floor.

Francis was convicted on 5 charges total, including assault, 3 counts of false imprisonment, and 1 count of dissuading a witness from reporting.

Never one to go down without a fight -- Francis recently filed court docs demanding a new trial based on allegations of insufficient evidence. We'll see if the judge buys his argument when the hearing begins.