Monday, October 7, 2013

Judge Marc Brown Appointed to 14th Court of Appeals

I just received word that 180th District Court Judge Marc Brown has been appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the 14th Court of Appeals.

It is an outstanding choice by the Governor, but it is bittersweet for those of us around the Harris County Criminal Justice Center who have gotten to practice in front of Judge Brown.  Although only having been on the Bench for the past few years, he quickly became one of the most highly respected judges in the building.

Most members of the Defense Bar are dubious when a prosecutor leaves the District Attorney's Office and immediately takes a Bench, but Judge Brown had an excellent reputation coming out of prosecution that helped him win a tough election in 2010.  Since taking the Bench, he has been one of the favorites of both prosecutors and defense attorneys with his even-handed demeanor, courtesy and knowledge of the law.  Time and again, Judge Brown has shown that he was not "a prosecutor in a black robe" as he followed the letter of the law without fail.

The 14th Court of Appeals gain is most definitely the CJC's loss, but the promotion couldn't be more well deserved.

It is my understanding that he will take over in his new position at the end of this week or the beginning of next week.  There is no word on who may be replacing him in the 180th.

Congratulations to Judge Brown!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've already voiced to Governor Perry that Rachael Palmer should be on the bench in the 180th. She brings no baggage, has tons of experience and will work every day as hard as we all do. She's very familiar with Grand Jury proceedings and understands the Fifth Amendment better than any prosecutor I know.

Anonymous said...

I've already voiced to Governor Perry that Rachael Palmer should be on the bench in the 180th. She brings no baggage, has tons of experience and will work every day as hard as we all do. She's very familiar with Grand Jury proceedings and understands the Fifth Amendment better than any prosecutor I know.

Anonymous said...

Must be an echo.

Anonymous said...

So now Hooper is upset that Marc has no "appellant" experience. Really? Marc has probably been an appellant in name at some point in time, but he might not have appellate experience. I bet Hooper is about ready to jump off of a ledge knowing that nobody, and I mean nobody, cares what he thinks. Obviously the governor doesn't care. He picked the best person for the job today. Congrats Marc Brown! You will be an excellent appellate judge.

Murray Newman said...

Man, I can't even translate what Hooper is trying to say in that latest comment.

To be fair, he's probably busy trying to figure out how to tie Rick Perry to the 185th Grand Jury.

Anonymous said...

Who edits Don' s gibberish at BJ? Certainly a dimwitted poster boy for Hooked on Phonics on his own blog and nearly everywhere else he dumps the vomit from his brain can't suddenly conjugate verbs and construct intelligible sentences on BJ. I demand a grand jury investigation!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Marc on his appointment to the appellate bench. Now several observations: 1) Marc is not the first nor will he be the last to be appointed to an appellate bench,having no appellate experience, 2) several former assistants D.A. likewise have been appointed in recent years without such experience, 3) it is my understanding that Marc was a valuable go to guy on search and seizure law with the departure of Ted Wilson, 4) the Court of Appeals justices are probably looking forward to an experienced criminal attorney since the bulk of their business is criminal and all the justices are former civil practitioners, 5)Perry is being given too much credit and criticism for the appointment - the appointment secretary wields the power - Perry is too busy hustling for the State and running for office.
Calvin A. Hartmann

Anonymous said...

Do you remember how Paris Hilton was in every media source available a few years back? How we were all so sick of her? And then the media moved onto other people and things and she kind of dropped off the planet. The more you talk about crazy Hooper, the more relevant he is. Only he's not. So don't even talk about the dude. It feeds his sick ego. The best way to make him irrelevant is to quit even acknowledging his existence, whether he posts crazy rants or not. Let him go already!

Anonymous said...

I am disappointed in this choice for Appellate Judge. Judge Carter gave 2 defendants, who were from out of state, 5 years deferred for packing 10 kilos of cocaine. Judge Carter succumbed to pressure from a letter writing campaign by special interest groups starting with the two defendants preachers! Need I say more. Plus he's on record of not being a big fan of The War on Drugs!

Murray Newman said...

Anon 10:46 a.m.,

Um, read the title of this article again.

First off, you are mixing Marcs -- which makes you a Marcist.

Also, there are a lot of people who aren't fans of the War on Drugs. Unless you know the complete details on the case where Judge Carter allegedly gave a DADJ, I wouldn't be so quick to condemn his decision making from the Bench.

Anonymous said...

Uh Anon 10:46, what does your comment have to do with Judge Marc Brown?

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Marc Brown, not only an excellent and fair Judge, but a really nice guy.

Anonymous said...

Perry appointed Catherine Evans as Judge of the 180th today, swearing in/start date TBD.

AnarchyLife said...

I wanna use my constitutional rights to say this is a horrible choice...Marc brown is a monster who has put numerous people behind bars with his ridiculous sentencing practices...I long for the day when Anarchy rises above all and the judges are judged for there crimes..

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