James McElwain Brown (December 9, 1941 – September 8, 2023) was an American trial attorney in private practice in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

, who served as

Oregon Attorney General The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The attorney general i ...

from 1980 to 1981. He was a Democrat. Born in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

, Brown attended

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...

before graduating Willamette University ''magna cum laude'' with a B.A. in 1964, and Yale Law School with an LL.B. in 1967, being admitted to the Oregon bar the same year. He served as a Deputy District Attorney from 1970 to 1972, and as District Attorney from 1972 to 1977, in Benton County, Oregon. He was Counsel to the Governor of Oregon (1977–1979) and Assistant Attorney General (1979–1980), before being appointed as state Attorney General in 1980. Brown died after a brief illness in San Jose, Costa Rica, on September 8, 2023, at the age of 81.

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* * 1941 births 2023 deaths Oregon attorneys general Politicians from Saint Paul, Minnesota Willamette University alumni Oregon Democrats Yale Law School alumni Politicians from Salem, Oregon District attorneys in Oregon People from Benton County, Oregon Lawyers from Salem, Oregon {{Oregon-politician-stub