Jeffrey Vincent Brown

Hon. Jeffrey Vincent Brown

United States District Court, Southern District of Texas

Judge Jeff Brown has served as the United States District Judge on Galveston Island since 2019. He previously served six years each as a justice on the Supreme Court of Texas, a justice on Texas’ Fourteenth Court of Appeals, and judge of the 55th District Court. 

A sixth-generation Texan and the son of a policeman, Judge Brown received a B.A. in English from the University of Texas—where he met his wife in a Shakespeare class—and his law degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Houston. He then clerked on the Texas Supreme Court—for Justices Jack Hightower and Greg Abbott—before practicing civil trial law at Baker Botts in Houston. He is just the fourth Texas Supreme Court law clerk to later return to the Court as a justice. 

Judge Brown was named Outstanding Young Lawyer of Texas in 2006 and Appellate Judge of the Year in 2010 and Trial Judge of the Year in 2022 by the Texas Association of Civil Trial & Appellate Specialists. He also received two judge-of-the-year awards as a state trial judge. He is co-editor of the Texas Rules of Evidence Handbook and board-certified in civil trial law.

While serving on the court of appeals, Judge Brown also volunteered weekly as a judge for Harris County's STAR Drug Court. STAR ("Success Through Addiction Recovery") is a treatment court for non-violent felony offenders who suffer from drug addiction. 

While on the Supreme Court of Texas, Judge Brown co-founded and co-chaired Texas’ Judicial Commission on Mental Health. As the court’s liaison to the Texas Board of Law Examiners, he oversaw Texas’ adoption of the Uniform Bar Exam.

A member of the American Law Institute, ABOTA, and the Maritime Law Association, Judge Brown also serves on the boards of the Houston Law Review, the UH Law Foundation, and the Galveston County Bar Association. He has taught trial skills at the University of Houston, constitutional law at the National Judicial College, and comparative law at St. Mary’s School of Law’s Institute on World Legal Problems in Innsbruck, Austria. And he serves on the editorial board of The Advocate, the quarterly journal of the State Bar's Litigation Section. 

In 2016, Judge Brown received the Outstanding Eagle Scout Award from the National Eagle Scout Association. He is the father of two Eagles—and a Girl Scout Gold Award recipient.

Judge Brown and his wife, Susannah, an educator at The Bryan Museum, live in a historic home on Galveston Island where they are both active Rotarians. They have three grown children and two dogs, Chester and Ruby, who love to romp in the surf.

*****

A person listed as a contributor has spoken or otherwise participated in Federalist Society events, publications, or multimedia presentations. A person's appearance on this list does not imply any other endorsement or relationship between the person and the Federalist Society. In most cases, the biographical information on a person's "contributor" page is provided directly by the person, and the Federalist Society does not edit or otherwise endorse that information. The Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues. All expressions of opinion by a contributor are those of the contributor.

Click to play: Panel One: Proposed Reforms to Texas Judicial Selection

Panel One: Proposed Reforms to Texas Judicial Selection

2019 Texas Chapters Conference

On September 14, 2019, The Federalist Society held a panel on Proposed Reforms to Texas...

Panel One: Proposed Reforms to Texas Judicial Selection

2019 Texas Chapters Conference

On September 14, 2019, The Federalist Society held a panel on Proposed Reforms to Texas...