George H. Brown Jr.

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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.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society. "Justices".
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Memphian to Be Named To State Supreme Court", The Memphis Press-Scimitar (June 13, 1980), p. 13.
  3. ↑ "Lawmaker Challenges Appointment to Court", The Knoxville News-Sentinel (June 14, 1980), p. 7.
  4. ↑ "Brown Dons Judge Robes", The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle (June 23, 1980), p. 4.
  5. ↑ "Brown To Be Sworn In Today", The Clarksville Leaf-Chronicle (June 24, 1980), p. 7.
  6. ↑ Jim Balentine, "Judge Brown Backs Selection System", The Memphis Press-Scimitar (August 27, 1980), p. 25.
  7. ↑ "Drowota sworn in as justice", Johnson City Press (September 6, 1980), p. 7.
Political offices
Preceded by Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court
1980–1980		Succeeded by
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