Janice Rogers Brown facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Janice Rogers Brown
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Portrait, c. 2000
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| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
| In office June 10, 2005 – August 31, 2017 |
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| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Stephen F. Williams |
| Succeeded by | Gregory G. Katsas |
| Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court | |
| In office May 3, 1996 – June 10, 2005 |
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| Appointed by | Pete Wilson |
| Preceded by | Ronald M. George |
| Succeeded by | Carol Corrigan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Janice Olivia Allen
May 11, 1949 Greenville, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
Alan Brown
(died 1988)Dewey Parker
(m. 1991) |
| Education | |
Janice Rogers Brown (born May 11, 1949) is an American judge. She worked as a federal judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2005 to 2017. Before that, she was an Associate Justice on the California Supreme Court from 1996 to 2005. She is part of the Federalist Society, a group interested in legal ideas.
In 2003, President George W. Bush nominated her for the U.S. Court of Appeals. Some groups were against her nomination. They thought she was too "conservative" and would try to change laws from the judge's seat. Her nomination was delayed for almost two years. She was nominated again and approved in 2005. The next month, she was considered for a spot on the Supreme Court of the United States. This was after Justice Sandra Day O'Connor retired. However, Janice Rogers Brown was not chosen for that role.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Janice Olivia Allen was born in Greenville, Alabama in 1949. Her father was a veteran of World War II. He worked on a farm, sharing the crops he grew with the landowner. Later, he joined the military again. After her parents separated, her grandmother mostly raised her. As a teenager, she moved to Sacramento, California, with her mother, who was a nurse. When her mother remarried, Janice took her stepfather's last name, Rogers.
Brown earned a college degree (B.A.) from California State University, Sacramento in 1974. At the time, she was a single mother working at the Department of Corrections. There, she met her first husband, Allen E. Brown Sr. She earned her law degree (J.D.) from UCLA in 1977. In 2004, she received a Master of Laws degree from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Brown has shared that her family refused to go into businesses that separated people by race when she was a child. She also said that as a young single mother, she once called herself very liberal.
Early Legal Career
For the first 20 years of her career, Brown mainly worked for government agencies.
From 1977 to 1979, she was a lawyer for the California Legislative Counsel. This office helps lawmakers write new laws.
From 1979 to 1987, she worked as a Deputy Attorney General for California. She handled both criminal and civil cases.
From 1987 to 1989, Brown was a Deputy Secretary and General Counsel for a California state agency. She also taught law as a professor at University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law from 1988 to 1989.
She worked briefly for a private law firm in 1990. But in January 1991, she returned to government work. She became the Legal Affairs Secretary for Governor Pete Wilson. This job lasted until November 1994. Her duties included looking at government policies and court decisions. She also advised on requests for pardons and extradition (sending someone to another state for trial). Her office also watched important state lawsuits.
California Supreme Court
In November 1994, Governor Wilson appointed Brown to the California Court of Appeal. This court reviews decisions made by lower courts.
In May 1996, Wilson appointed Brown as an Associate Justice to the California Supreme Court. This is the highest court in California. The State Bar of California JNE Commission rated her "not qualified." They felt she lacked enough experience and sometimes let her political views affect her opinions. Brown was the first person rated "not qualified" to be appointed to the California Supreme Court.
Key Decisions
In a case called Hi-Voltage Wire-Works, Inc. v. City of San Jose (2000), Brown wrote the opinion. This decision overturned a city program that set aside certain jobs or contracts based on race. Her opinion supported a change to the California Constitution. This change banned special treatment based on race, sex, or background in public jobs, education, or contracts.
Brown also wrote the main opinion in Varian v. Delfino. This was an important case about the First Amendment, which protects free speech. The case looked at California's law against SLAPP lawsuits. These lawsuits try to stop people from speaking out.
In 2000, she wrote the opinion in Kasler v. Lockyer. This decision upheld California's right to ban certain semi-automatic firearms. It also allowed the Attorney General to add to the list of banned weapons. Her opinion made it clear that the court was not saying the law was good or bad. Instead, it was recognizing the state's power to make such laws.
U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
Nomination and Approval
President George W. Bush nominated Janice Rogers Brown to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. This happened on July 25, 2003. She was nominated to fill a seat left empty by Stephen F. Williams.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a meeting about her nomination on October 22. After the committee approved her, her name went to the full Senate. But on November 14, 2003, a vote to end debate on her nomination failed. This meant her nomination was sent back to the President.
President Bush nominated Brown again on February 14, 2005. On April 21, 2005, the Senate Judiciary Committee again approved her. They sent her name to the full Senate. On May 23, Senator John McCain helped make a deal. This deal, called the Gang of 14 agreement, involved seven Republican and seven Democratic Senators. It helped ensure that Brown and other nominees would get a vote.
Some groups, like the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, were against her nomination. They said her record on the California Supreme Court showed she was against programs that help civil rights. They also said she was against rights for people with disabilities and workers' rights.
On June 8, 2005, the Senate approved Brown's nomination by a vote of 56 to 43. This happened after the 14 senators made a deal. She officially became a judge on June 10, 2005. She started hearing federal cases on September 8, 2005. Brown retired from the U.S. Court of Appeals on August 31, 2017.
Time as a Judge
Just one month after Brown became a judge, she was considered for the United States Supreme Court. This was to replace Justice Sandra Day O'Connor who was retiring. Other possible candidates included John G. Roberts and Samuel Alito. Roberts was later chosen for Chief Justice, and Alito was chosen for O'Connor's seat.
Brown wrote a different opinion in a case called Omar v. Harvey. In this opinion, she explained her views on how the government's powers should be balanced. The court had stopped the U.S. military from moving a suspected insurgent. This was while his lawsuit about his detention was still being decided.
In 2012, she wrote an opinion for the case Hettinga v. United States. In it, she strongly criticized the idea that laws about money and business should always be seen as valid.
In June 2017, Brown wrote for a group of judges who all agreed. They found that family members of Yemenis killed in a U.S. drone strike could not sue the government. This was because the courts could not legally decide on such military actions. However, she wrote a separate opinion that criticized this lack of court oversight. She said that rules about political questions and state secrets give too much power to the Executive Branch.
In August 2017, Brown disagreed with part of a court decision. The court found that a law allowed the prosecution of those who committed the Nisour Square massacre.
After Retirement (2017–Present)
In November 2018, President Donald Trump reportedly thought about nominating Brown for U.S. Attorney General. This was after Jeff Sessions resigned. Trump later appointed Matthew Whitaker and then William Barr to the position.
In 2019, Brown was a "jurist-in-residence" at University of California Berkeley School of Law. This means she was a visiting legal expert. She co-taught a class there.
In November 2021, she gave a speech at a University of California, Berkeley event. She talked about "Cancelling Cancel Culture."
As of November 2021, Brown was on the Boards of Regents for Pepperdine University and the University of the Pacific. She was also on the Board of Advisors for the New Civil Liberties Alliance. This is a law firm that opposes too much government power.
As of February 2022, the University of California Berkeley School of Law listed her as a lecturer.
Groups She Belongs To
Brown is connected with several groups. These include the Woodson Center, Federalist Society, the American Judges Association, and the American Judicature Society.
Political Views
Janice Rogers Brown used to share her family's more liberal views. But later, she became more conservative. In one case, People v. Robert Young (2005), Brown argued that Black women should not be seen as a "group" that prosecutors could not remove from juries. She said prosecutors could remove jurors based on them being Black women.
She has shared her political beliefs in speeches. In a 2000 speech at the University of Chicago Law School, she talked about her concerns. She said that when government grows, community shrinks. She also suggested that too much government leads to a "debased culture." She has also compared some forms of democracy to being controlled by the government.
Her speech gained attention for her idea that certain court decisions in 1937 were a "socialist revolution." These decisions supported laws like minimum wage. She believed these decisions limited the power of states and the federal government to control the economy. She called for a return to an older view, before 1937. This view said the U.S. Constitution strongly limits government power over the economy. Many legal experts, including some conservatives, have disagreed with this older view.
In the same speech, Brown said the Federalist Society was a "rare bastion" of conservative and libertarian ideas. She also spoke about her beliefs in private property rights. She described government as a "leviathan," meaning a huge, powerful force that crushes everything in its path.
Personal Life
Janice Rogers Brown had one son, Nathan Allen Brown, born in 1971. His father was her first husband, Allen E. Brown Sr., who passed away from cancer in 1988. Three years later, she married Dewey Parker, a jazz electric bassist.
See Also
- List of African-American federal judges
- List of African-American jurists
- List of first women lawyers and judges in California
- List of justices of the Supreme Court of California
- George W. Bush judicial appointment controversies
- George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates
- Gang of 14
- Black conservatism in the United States
Videos
- Video of Judge Brown's Investiture
