Stephen Brown (judge)
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Sir Stephen Brown GBE, PC (born ) is a British retired judge. He was a
Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Justice ...
and the
President of the Family Division The President of the Family Division is the head of the Family Division of the High Court of Justice in England and Wales and Head of Family Justice. The Family Division was created in 1971 when Admiralty and contentious probate cases were remove ...
of the
High Court of England and Wales The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (England ...
.


Early life and education

Brown was born on 3 October 1924 to Wilfrid Brown and Nora Elizabeth Brown of Longdon Green,
Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
. He was educated at
Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...
Children's Rights International Advisory Committee
/ref> and
Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
.


Career

From 1943 to 1946 Brown served in the
Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...
as a lieutenant. Brown became a
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...
at the
Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...
in 1949, became a bencherWho's Who 2008 in 1974, and became TreasurerWho's Who 2008 in 1994. He was Deputy Chairman of Staffordshire Quarter SessionsWho's Who 2008 from 1963 to 971, and RecorderWho's Who 2008 of West Bromwich from 1965 to 971. He was appointed
Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
in 1966. He was a Recorder, and Honorary Recorder of
West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area known as the Black Country, in terms of geography, ...
from 1972 to 1975, was a High Court judge, in the Family Division,Who's Who 2008 from 1975 to 1977, and in the
Queen's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...
from 1977 to 1983, and was Presiding Judge of the
Midland and Oxford Circuit The Crown Court is the court of first instance of England and Wales responsible for hearing all indictable offences, some either way offences and appeals lied to it by the magistrates' courts. It is one of three Senior Courts of England and Wal ...
from 1977 to 1981. Brown became a
Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...
in 1983 and was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal (1983–88) and, finally, President of the Family Division (1988–99) of the High Court of England and Wales. On 19 November 1992, he delivered the landmark ruling that doctors treating
Tony Bland Anthony David Bland (21 September 1970 – 3 March 1993) was a supporter of Liverpool F.C. injured in the Hillsborough disaster. He suffered severe brain damage that left him in a persistent vegetative state as a consequence of which the hospita ...
, who had been in a
persistent vegetative state A persistent vegetative state (PVS) or post-coma unresponsiveness (PCU) is a disorder of consciousness in which patients with severe brain damage are in a state of partial arousal rather than true awareness. After four weeks in a vegetative stat ...
since suffering serious
brain damage Neurotrauma, brain damage or brain injury (BI) is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors. In general, brain damage refers to significant, undiscriminating t ...
in the
Hillsborough disaster The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during a football match at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, on 15 April 1989. It occurred during an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest in the ...
more than three years earlier, could withdraw food and treatment keeping him alive. Treatment was ultimately withdrawn on 22 February 1993, after the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...
rejected an appeal by the Official Solicitor, and Mr Bland died on 3 March 1993. He was a member of the Parole Board of England and Wales from 1967 to 71, of the Butler Committee on mentally abnormal offendersWho's Who 2008 from 1972 to 1975, and of the Advisory Council on Penal System in 1977. He was chairman of the Advisory Committee on Conscientious ObjectorsPress Office, University of the West of England
Retrieved 10 January 2010
from 1971 to 1975. He was chairman of the Council of
Malvern College Malvern College is an Independent school (United Kingdom), independent coeducational day and boarding school in Malvern, Worcestershire, Malvern, Worcestershire, England. It is a public school (United Kingdom), public school in the British sen ...
from 1976 to 1994.Who's Who 2008 As of 10 January 2009, he is also a member of the Advisory Committee of Children's Rights International. He has served as president of several organisations: Edgbaston High School, 1989–;Who's Who 2008 Malvernian Society, 1998–.Who's Who 2008


Honours and decorations

Brown was
knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...
in 1975. Brown was appointed a
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
in 1999. He has received an honorary fellowship and several honorary degrees: * Honorary Fellow:
Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
, 1984 * Honorary LLD:
University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...
, 1985 * Honorary LLD:
University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...
, 1997 * Honorary LLD, Honorary FRC Psychology: University of the West of England 2000. Brown was appointed a
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
in 1999.


Personal life

In 1951, Brown married Patricia Ann Good, daughter of Richard Good from
Tenbury Wells Tenbury Wells (locally Tenbury) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the northwestern extremity of the Malvern Hills District of Worcestershire, England. Its northern border adjoins Shropshire, and at the 2011 census it ...
,
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
. They had twin sons and three daughters. They lived in
Harborne Harborne is an area of south-west Birmingham, England. It is one of the most affluent areas of the Midlands, southwest from Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in ...
,
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
until Patricia died in January 2020.Brown
/ref>


References


External links

*Who's Who 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Stephen 1924 births Living people 20th-century English judges People educated at Malvern College Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Knights Bachelor Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Family Division judges Presidents of the Family Division Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II Royal Navy officers of World War II