The First Amendment protects our right to criticize the government without fear of persecution, right? Well, not in Alabama. The local NBC affiliate, WAFF reports that a local man, Phillip Dean, was arrested for putting a sign on his front lawn that criticized the judicial branch of the government. Jackson County Judge Haralson wasn't amused by the sign, so he had Dean arrested and jailed for contempt of court.

Up to his ears in legal documents, Phillip Dean is fed up with the judicial system.

"That's the kind of court system we've got in Jackson County, Alabama and I want everybody to know," Dean says.

So he put a sign in his front lawn saying "Our Court System Is a Joke."

A message landing him behind bars.

"I was in a cell about four foot wide and six foot long and nothing in it but a toilet," he explains.

Arrest orders signed by Judge Haralson claim Dean to be in direct contempt of court, even though the sign is on County Road 107, not in the county courthouse.

"The signs were so derogatory to the court they could not be ignored," Haralson responds in a local paper.