Garrett Brown, Jr.

Who is Garrett Brown, Jr.?

Garrett E. Brown, Jr. is a former federal judge and attorney who served as a Judge and later the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey from 1985 to 2012.

Born in Orange, New Jersey, Brown received an A.B. from Lafayette College in 1965 and a J.D. from Duke University School of Law in 1968. He was a law clerk to Vincent S. Haneman of the Supreme Court of New Jersey from 1968 to 1969.

After clerking, Brown became an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey before leaving to work in private practice. He left private practice in 1981 to be Chief Counsel for the U.S. Government Printing Office. He served in that role until 1983, when he became the Chief Counsel for the U.S. Maritime Administration for the next two years. From 1985 to 1986, Brown served as the Acting Deputy Maritime Administrator in the U.S. Maritime Administration.

On October 23, 1985 President Ronald Reagan nominated Brown to a new seat on the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey created by 98 Stat. 333.