USD Law Alumnus to Lead North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission
“I am honored to be appointed as chair of the Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission and look forward to continuing the balanced and thoughtful approach that Judge Spainhour brought as chair,” said Judge Brown.
Brown, a chief district judge in Rowan County, North Carolina, is a past president of the Conference of Chief District Court Judges. He was elected to the district court bench in North Carolina District 19C in 1998 and appointed chief district court judge in 2001. He has more than 25 years of experience in the North Carolina court system, having served as a private attorney, Department of Social Services attorney, and assistant district attorney, in addition to chief district court judge. Brown will continue his regular duties as chief district court judge in addition to his appointed position to the Commission.
Brown was first appointed to the Commission in 2008 and was reappointed four times to represent the Conference of District Court Judges. He has served on seven of the Commission’s subcommittees, including leading the Justice Reinvestment Act Subcommittee since 2011. He also represented the Commission on the Youth Accountability Task Force, created by the North Carolina General Assembly to design a plan to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction.
Brown lives in Salisbury, North Carolina, with his wife, Emily Ford, who received a bachelor’s degree from USD in 1992, and their three children.
