Paul Neeley Brown (October 4, 1926 – November 26, 2012) was an attorney and

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the United States federal judiciary, U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each United States federal judicial district, federal judicial district, which each cover o ...

of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (in case citations, E.D. Tex.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. ...

. He had previously served as the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal c ...

for the Eastern District of Texas.

Education and career

Born in Denison,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, Brown served as an Electrician's Mate in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, entering the service at age 18 and serving from 1944 to 1946. Afterward he went to college on the GI Bill, and earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

in 1950. He returned to the Navy for a short tour from 1950 to 1951. After being discharged, Brown returned to

Sherman Sherman most commonly refers to: *Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name) ** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General *M4 Sherman, a tank Sherman may also refer to: Places United St ...

, Texas and set up a private practice. In 1953 he was appointed as an

Assistant United States Attorney An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...

for the Eastern District of Texas, serving from 1953 to 1959. He was appointed as the

for the Eastern District of Texas from 1959 to 1961. He returned to private practice in Sherman from 1961 to 1985.

Federal judicial service

On September 11, 1985, Brown was nominated by President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

to a new seat on the

created by 98 Stat. 333. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on October 16, 1985, and received his commission on October 17, 1985. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi-retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the Federal judiciary of the United States, federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of servi ...

on April 1, 2001. He died on November 26, 2012.

Honors

* The United States Courthouse, located at 101 East Pecan Street in Sherman, Texas, was designated by Congress as the "Paul Brown United States Courthouse."

References

Sources

* CBO - http://www.cbo.gov/publication/44450 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Paul Neeley 1926 births 2012 deaths United States Attorneys for the Eastern District of Texas Judges of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas United States district court judges appointed by Ronald Reagan 20th-century American judges United States Navy sailors People from Denison, Texas Assistant United States Attorneys United States Navy personnel of World War II