Investigators from the district attorney's office arrest Ralph Sasson at the Milwaukee County Courthouse on Wednesday after a contempt hearing in his civil case against his former friend, Milwaukee Brewers star Ryan Braun. Sasson was released about 2 1/2 hours later. Credit: Bruce Vielmetti

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The judge who dismissed Ralph Sasson's defamation lawsuit against Ryan Braun last month referred Braun's former friend to prosecutors Wednesday for possible criminal charges of contempt of court.

Sasson, who has served as his own attorney throughout the yearlong litigation, was then arrested as he left the courtroom after a brief hearing. He was released about 21/2 hours later, Sasson said later.

"They said they decided not to file charges" Wednesday, but were going to investigate further, Sasson said. "I want them to investigate further. If I'm wrong, I'll suffer. But I'm not. I've checked into it."

Sasson contends that he helped Braun, his childhood and college friend and now a star for the Milwaukee Brewers, defended Braun against claims that Braun had violated Major League Baseball's doping rules, and was later shorted money owed for his help and defamed by Braun.

Wednesday's development followed Sasson's decision to post on YouTube segments of the video of his February deposition in the case. The posting appeared to be in violation of an order by Circuit Judge Paul Van Grunsven that all filings and discovery in the case remain under seal.

Attorneys for Braun and his agents, who were defendants in Sasson's suit, asked that Sasson be held in contempt. At the hearing on the motion Wednesday, Van Grunsven said that, in a letter to the court, Sasson admitted posting the video but stated he could not be sanctioned because Van Grunsven's seal order was invalid on grounds of due process and the First Amendment.

Van Grunsven disagreed, citing case law that direct violation of a court's order is "the very definition of contempt." Whether Sasson believed the order was valid or not, the judge said, he was obligated to obey it until he was legally relieved of doing so.

Van Grunsven has stated in earlier hearings that he decided to require all pleadings to be filed under seal after Sasson filed discovery requests that seemed designed not to elicit relevant information but to unduly embarrass, harass or prejudice Braun and his agent.

Sasson's litigation tactics clearly frustrated the judge at times, yet he continually gave Sasson, as a pro se litigant without a lawyer, more leeway and warnings, but finally dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning the case is now closed.

Sasson promptly filed a motion to vacate the judgment and lift the seal order, and then posted the video from his own deposition. In it, he's wearing a University of Miami Law sweat shirt as he answers questions from Milwaukee lawyer Stephen Kravit, who represents Braun's agent, Nez Balelo, and his employer, Creative Artists Agency.

Sasson attended Miami with Braun as an undergraduate. When he first filed his lawsuit, he said he was a law student, but not at Miami. Last year he said he was enrolled at Taft University, an unaccredited online law school.

Late last week, the sports website Deadspin reported on Sasson's deposition being on YouTube. The comments left by readers prompted Sasson to post a shorter, edited version just showing what he considered highlights from the deposition. It includes Sasson talking about how he met Braun in middle school.

Deadspin was critical of the highlight reel, and Sasson then wrote a lengthy response in his own defense, saying in part:

"I believe that the video below provides an unbiased reflection of my character and personality."