Stephen Brown (judge)

{{Infobox judge

| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable

| name = Sir Stephen Brown

| honorific-suffix = GBE

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| office = President of the Family Division

| term_start = 1988

| term_end = 1999

| predecessor = Sir John Arnold

| successor = Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1924|10|03}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = British

| spouse = {{Marriage|Patricia Ann Good|1951}}

| children = 5 (2 sons, 3 daughters)

| parents = Wilfrid Brown
Nora Elizabeth Brown

| residence = Harborne, Birmingham, United Kingdom

| education =

| alma_mater = Queens' College, Cambridge

| occupation = Judge

| profession = Judge

| allegiance = {{flag|United Kingdom}}

| branch = {{navy|United Kingdom}}

| serviceyears = 1943 to 1946

| rank = Lieutenant

| unit = Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve

}}

Sir Stephen Brown (born 3 October 1924) is a British retired judge. He was a Lord Justice of Appeal and the President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales.

Early life and education

Brown was born on 3 October 1924 to Wilfrid Brown and Nora Elizabeth Brown of Longdon Green, Staffordshire. He was educated at Malvern College[http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/article.asp?item=51 University of West England awards Honorary Degree to Sir Steven Brown, 26.10.2000.][http://www.childjustice.org/html/committee_text.htm#brown Children's Rights International Advisory Committee] and Queens' College, Cambridge.{{cite web|title=Stephen BROWN|url=http://www.debretts.com/people-of-today/profile/86730/Stephen-BROWN|website=Debretts|accessdate=27 October 2015}}{{Dead link|date=June 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}

Career

From 1943 to 1946 Brown served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve as a lieutenant.

Brown became a barrister at the Inner Temple in 1949, became a bencherWho's Who 2008 in 1974,{{Citation needed|reason=date seems implausible|date=January 2010}} and became TreasurerWho's Who 2008 in 1994{{Citation needed|reason=date appears implausible|date=January 2010}}. He was Deputy Chairman of Staffordshire Quarter SessionsWho's Who 2008 from 1963 to 1971, and RecorderWho's Who 2008 of West Bromwich from 1965 to 1971. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1966. He was a Recorder, and Honorary Recorder of West Bromwich from 1972 to 1975, was a High Court judge, in the Family Division,Who's Who 2008 from 1975 to 1977, and in the Queen's Bench Division from 1977 to 1983, and was Presiding Judge of the Midland and Oxford Circuit from 1977 to 1981.

Brown became a Privy Counsellor in 1983[http://www.privy-council.org.uk/output/Page76.asp Members of the British Privy Council] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819091241/http://www.privy-council.org.uk/output/Page76.asp |date=19 August 2009 }} and was appointed a Lord Justice of Appeal (1983–88) and, finally, President of the Family Division (1988–99) of the High Court of England and Wales. On 19 November 1992, he delivered the landmark ruling that doctors treating Tony Bland, who had been in a persistent vegetative state since suffering serious brain damage in the Hillsborough disaster more than three years earlier, could withdraw food and treatment keeping him alive. Treatment was ultimately withdrawn on 22 February 1993, after the House of Lords rejected an appeal by the Official Solicitor, and Mr Bland died on 3 March 1993.{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/19/newsid_2520000/2520581.stm|title = 1992: Hillsborough victim allowed to die|date = 19 November 1992}}

He was a member of the Parole Board of England and Wales from 1967 to 71, of the Butler Committee on mentally abnormal offendersWho's Who 2008 from 1972 to 1975, and of the Advisory Council on Penal System in 1977. He was chairman of the Advisory Committee on Conscientious Objectors[http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/UWENews/article.asp?item=51 Press Office, University of the West of England] Retrieved 10 January 2010 from 1971 to 1975. He was chairman of the Council of Malvern College from 1976 to 1994.Who's Who 2008

As of 10 January 2009, he is also a member of the Advisory Committee of Children's Rights International. He has served as president of several organisations: Edgbaston High School, 1989–;Who's Who 2008 Malvernian Society, 1998–.Who's Who 2008

=Honours and decorations=

Brown was knighted in 1975. Brown was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours "for services to the Family Court System."{{London Gazette |issue=55513 |date=12 June 1999 |pages=7 |supp=y }}

He has received an honorary fellowship and several honorary degrees:

Honorary Fellow: Queens' College, Cambridge, 1984
Honorary LLD: University of Birmingham, 1985
Honorary LLD: University of Leicester, 1997
Honorary LLD, Honorary FRC Psychology: University of the West of England, 2000.

Personal life

In 1951, Brown married Patricia Ann Good, daughter of Richard Good from Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire. They had twin sons and three daughters. They lived in Harborne, Birmingham until Patricia died in January 2020.[https://epaper.thetimes.com/app/THE343 Brown]