George H. Brown Jr. (born 1939) is a Tennessee lawyer who served as a justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court in 1980, and was the first black person to serve on that court.[1]
Born in Memphis, Tennessee,[2] Brown received a B.S. from Florida A&M University in 1960, and a J.D. from the Howard University School of Law in 1967.[1][2] Brown was a conciliator for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1969 to 1971, and executive director for Memphis Area Legal Services from 1971 to 1973.[1] He was elected to the Memphis school board in 1971, and in 1974 became the first black president of the board.[2] He supported the unsuccessful gubernatorial bid of Lamar Alexander in 1974, and chaired Alexander's successful campaign for the same office in 1978.[2]
On June 13, 1980, Alexander announced the appointment of Brown to a seat on the Tennessee Supreme Court vacated by the recent death of Justice Joe W. Henry.[1][2] The appointment was challenged due to Brown not residing in the same division of Tennessee as the previous occupant of the seat,[3] but Brown was sworn in to the sear on June 23, 1980.[4] Brown also declared his candidacy for election to the seat as a Republican,[5] but was defeated by Democratic nominee Frank Drowota in a special election on August 7, 1980,[1][6] serving until Drowota was sworn in on September 5, 1980.[7]
Brown then returned to private practive until being appointed as a Circuit Court judge of the Thirtieth Judicial District at Memphis, where he remained until his retirement from the bench in 2005.[1] Following his retirement, he returned to private practice as a mediator and arbitrator.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society. "Justices".
- ^ a b c d e "Memphian to Be Named To State Supreme Court", The Memphis Press-Scimitar (June 13, 1980), p. 13.
- ^ "Lawmaker Challenges Appointment to Court", The Knoxville News-Sentinel (June 14, 1980), p. 7.
- ^ "Brown Dons Judge Robes", The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle (June 23, 1980), p. 4.
- ^ "Brown To Be Sworn In Today", The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle (June 24, 1980), p. 7.
- ^ Jim Balentine, "Judge Brown Backs Selection System", The Memphis Press-Scimitar (August 27, 1980), p. 25.
- ^ "Drowota sworn in as justice", Johnson City Press (September 6, 1980), p. 7.
External links
edit- George H. Brown Jr. biography at the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals