Richard Searle Brown (born March 31, 1946) is an American jurist and the retired chief judge of the

Wisconsin Court of Appeals The Wisconsin Court of Appeals is an intermediate appellate court that reviews contested decisions of the Wisconsin circuit courts. The Court of Appeals was created in August 1978 to alleviate the Wisconsin Supreme Court's rising number of appe ...

. Brown served as a Court of Appeals judge from 1978 to 2015 and as chief judge from 2007; his service on the court concluded on July 31, 2015. His father, Manny S. Brown, served four terms in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

Life and career

Richard Brown was born in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

; he graduated from

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

in 1968 and the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

in 1971. He served as an assistant district attorney in Racine County from 1971 until 1973, when he entered private practice in

Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...

, specializing in

commercial litigation Commercial law (or business law), which is also known by other names such as mercantile law or trade law depending on jurisdiction; is the body of law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmenta ...

. In 1978, Brown was elected to a judgeship on the newly created

, serving in the court's Waukesha-based District II. At the time of his election, Brown was the youngest judge serving in Wisconsin's courts. In 1983, Brown was appointed presiding judge of District II. Also in 1983, Brown, who is

hearing-impaired Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spok ...

, became the first judge to use a real-time, computerized transcription system in a Wisconsin courtroom. In 1990, Brown challenged

Wisconsin Supreme Court The Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Supreme court, highest and final court of appeals in the state judicial system of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. In addition to hearing appeals of lower Wisconsin court decisions, the Wisconsin Supreme Court also ...

Justice Donald Steinmetz, a conservative incumbent, in his reelection bid. After a contentious campaign, Brown was defeated in the April general election, despite receiving considerable support and the endorsement of the ''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

''. Brown continued to serve on the Court of Appeals; in May 2007, he was named the court's chief judge and assumed that office on August 1. On February 2, 2015, Brown announced his retirement from the Court of Appeals, effective August 2.

Personal life and family

Richard Brown is a son of Manny S. Brown and his wife Jeanne (' Levin). Manny Brown was an attorney in Racine and served four terms in the

in the 1960s. Richard Brown married Nancy Lynn Cory in August 1969. They have four adult children.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Richard S. Politicians from Racine, Wisconsin Politicians from Oshkosh, Wisconsin Wisconsin Court of Appeals judges Wisconsin lawyers Miami University alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni 1946 births Living people Jewish American people in Wisconsin politics American people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent

Life and career

Personal life and family

See also

References