Governor Perry appointed Justice Jeff Brown of Houston’s 14th Court of Appeals to fill the seat vacated when Justice Nathan Hecht became our Chief Justice several weeks ago. This is an excellent choice.
Justice Brown was appointed to this well-regarded appellate court by Governor Perry in 2007 and has served on the court for the last six years. From 2001-07 he served as a trial judge and received high marks there. He has received many other awards.
He practiced at the blue chip law firm Baker Botts and tried cases throughout Southeast Texas and was also a briefing attorney to Justices Jack Hightower and Greg Abbott on the Texas Supreme Court.
I have this much in common with the new justice: we both earned our bachelor’s degrees in English from the University of Texas, a good major for an attorney in training.
A fellow Eagle Scout, Justice Brown served on the Sam Houston Area Boy Scouts’ Urban Scouting Committee, an effort to bring Scouting to the inner city. He remains an active Scout leader, and serves as Scouting Ministries Coordinator at his church. He and his wife, a schoolteacher, live in Houston with their three children.
I congratulate Justice Brown and wish him success on the Court.