Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN, Texas – (WASHINGTON, DC) . . . Today, the House passed H.R. 185, legislation introduced by Rep. Ralph Hall (TX-04) to name the Federal Courthouse in Sherman, Texas the “Paul Brown United States Courthouse.” The bill passed 402-1.
“Judge Brown was a respected and beloved member of the Sherman community and known for his distinguished career as U.S. Judge for over 21 years,” said Hall. “He had a sterling reputation for running an efficient and orderly courtroom, and upholding a high standard of personal work ethic and judicial integrity.”
Hall continued, “It is fitting that we pay tribute to one of America’s outstanding Federal Judges and his many years of service on behalf of our Nation by placing his name on the Federal Courthouse. In this way, Judge Brown’s years of public service may be recognized and remembered for generations to come.”
The youngest of a family of six, Paul Brown was raised on a farm near Pottsboro, Texas and graduated from Denison High School. When World War II broke out, he joined the U.S. Navy and served on a minesweeper in both the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters and as a part of the occupation forces in Japan.
Judge Brown received his law degree in 1950 from The University of Texas. Following his military service in the Korean War, Judge Brown began practicing law. He served as Assistant U.S. Attorney from 1953-1959, and U.S. District Attorney from 1959-1961.
In 1985, Senator Phil Graham recommended Judge Brown to President Ronald Reagan for a new judge’s position created for the Eastern District of Texas. Confirmed later that year, Judge Brown held court in Beaumont, Paris, Sherman, and Texarkana. When the caseload in Sherman grew, he eventually presided over the Sherman courthouse exclusively. Judge Brown served as U.S. Judge until 2006. He passed away November 26, 2012.
