The Honorable Jeffrey Vincent Brown is a United States district judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. During his legal career, he also served on the Supreme Court of Texas as an associate justice. In May 2018, Justice Jeff Brown was nominated by President Donald Trump to serve on the United States District Court bench.
Early Life and Education
Judge Jeff Brown is a sixth-generation Texan with a father who worked as a police officer serving the Dallas County community for 35 years. For most of his life, Jeff has been involved in scouting. At 16, he achieved the Eagle Scout rank and is now the father of a scout. With his dedication to scouting, the National Eagle Scout Association awarded him the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award.
With his father serving as a police officer in Dallas County, Brown grew up in the Dallas community. Brown graduated from Bishop Lynch High School in 1988. After that, he attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a degree in English. During this time, Brown would meet his wife, Susannah.
After graduation, Brown would attend the University of Houston Law Center for his legal studies. During this time, he served as an editor at the Houston Law Review while he earned his Juris Doctor. He also clerked for two Texas Supreme Court Justices, the Honorable Jack Hightower and the Honorable Greg Abbott.
After his clerkship, Brown became certified to practice civil trial law. He focused on private practice and joined as a member of a Houston-based law firm.
Legal Career
While in private practice, he worked on civil litigation trials at Baker Botts LLP. Brown would go on to represent defendants in personal injury lawsuits involving automobile accidents. He took 14 cases to trial during his five years at the firm.
In 2001, then-30-year-old Jeff Brown was appointed to the 55th District Court by Governor Rick Perry. Brown was elected to a full term in 2002 and again in 2006. In 2007, Perry promoted him to the Fourteenth Court of Appeals based in Houston, where he won elections in 2008 and 2012.
In 2013, Governor Perry appointed him to serve out the unexpired term of the Honorable Chief Justice Nathan Hecht, who had been elevated to that top position in the court. Brown was elected in 2014 and reelected in 2018 as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of Texas.
President Donald Trump appointed Jeffrey Brown to serve as a District Judge on the United States District Court in 2018.
Jeff Brown has received outstanding marks in bar surveys throughout his career. He was named Appellate Judge of the Year in 2010 while serving on the trial bench. Brown has won two additional “Judge of the Year” awards during his career.
Other Accolades
Brown served as a board member for several non-profit organizations, including the Texas Historical Foundation and the Christian Community Service Center. He was named the Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas in 2006. Brown also received recognition from the Jaycees as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Texans in 2008.
Jeff Brown continues to serve as a District Judge for the United States District Court.
Dr. Nick Oberheiden is a national litigation and trial criminal defense attorney who practices exclusively in the area of federal law.