George M. Brown

Infobox Judge
name = George M. Brown


imagesize = 175px
caption = Brown circa 1910
office = 50th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
termstart = 1920
termend = 1933
nominator =
appointer = Ben W. Olcott
predecessor = Alfred S. Bennett
successor = John O. Bailey
office2 = 5th Oregon Attorney General
termstart2 = January 4 1915
termend2 = October 14 1920
nominator2 =
appointer2 =
predecessor2 = Andrew M. Crawford
successor2 = Isaac H. Van Winkle
birthdate = May 5 1864
birthplace = Douglas County, Oregon
deathdate = death date and age|1934|6|18|1864|5|5|mf=y
deathplace = Oregon
party = Republican
spouse = Bertha Bellows

George M. Brown (1864-1934) was an American attorney and judge in the state of Oregon. He was the 50th Associate Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court and the 5th attorney general of the state from 1915 to 1920. An Oregon born and educated attorney, he previously worked as a district attorney in Southern Oregon.

Early life

George Brown was born on May 5 1864 in Southern Oregon’s Douglas County.Corning, Howard M. "Dictionary of Oregon History". Binfords & Mort Publishing, 1956.] His parents Thomas Brown and Sarah Fleet Brown immigrated to Oregon Country in 1847. In Oregon, George was educated in the local schools before attending and graduating from Umpqua Academy in 1883. He then went onto Willamette University in Salem, Oregon where he graduated in 1885. After reading law in Salem Brown passed the bar in 1891.

Legal career

From 1894 until 1896 George Brown was the district attorney for Oregon’s 2nd district while headquartered in Roseburg. He was then reelected and continued in that position until 1908. In 1914, Brown was elected as Oregon’ Attorney General as a Republican with his term beginning on January 4 1915. [http://www.bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections30.htm Oregon Blue Book: Attorneys General of Oregon.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on February 2 2008.] In this role he represented the state along with John O. Bailey in the United States Supreme Court case of "Bunting v. Oregon" that upheld an Oregon law in a landmark decision regulating the number of maximum hours an employer could work an employee. [ [http://law.jrank.org/pages/13589/Bunting-v-Oregon.html Bunting v. Oregon.] Net Industries. Retrieved on February 2 2008.] He was reelected in 1918 and continued as attorney general until October 14 1920 when he resigned the position.

Also on October 14, Oregon Governor Ben W. Olcott appointed Brown to the state supreme court bench after Alfred S. Bennett resigned from the court. [ [http://www.bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections24.htm Oregon Blue Book: Governors of Oregon.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on February 2 2008.] [http://www.bluebook.state.or.us/state/elections/elections27.htm Oregon Blue Book: Supreme Court Justices of Oregon.] Oregon Secretary of State. Retrieved on February 2 2008.] That same year he won election to a full six-year term on the bench. In 1926, Brown won reelection and then left the court at the end of that term in 1933.

Family

In 1895 Brown married Bertha Bellows. The Browns would have three children. George M. Brown died on June 18 1934 at the age of 70.

References