Janice R. Brown, Support, Resumé

Janice R. Brown, Support

Gerald F. Uelmen, Professor, Santa Clara University School of Law

"Too often, the best advice for those who want to rise in today’s judiciary is “keep your head down.” Unfortunately, the surest path to confirmation in this climate is anonymity. Judges who have compiled a track record of strong positions on controversial issues will be passed over. They shouldn’t be, because a willingness to stick your neck out and accept criticism is often the hallmark of a great judge. A president or a governor should be willing to occasionally risk a bruising confirmation battle to elevate a jurist with great potential to make a difference.

"That’s precisely what President George W. Bush has done in nominating California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown to the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. He should be applauded for this appointment, and she should be promptly confirmed. But that’s unlikely to happen. The judicial confirmation process has become mired in “payback” and special interest politics. Justice Brown will be targeted by liberal because of the opinions she authored in controversial abortion and affirmative action cases. On both of these issues, she voted the same way as Stanley Mosk, a great “liberal” jurist with whom Justice Brown had a lot in common.

"Although I frequently find myself in disagreement with Justice Brown’s opinions, I have come to greatly admire her independence, her tenacity, her intellect and her wit. It’s time to refocus the judicial confirmation process on the personal qualities of the candidates, rather than the “hot button” issues of the past. We have no way of predicting where the hot buttons will be in years to come, and our goal should be to have judges in place with a reverence for our Constitution, who will approach these issues with independence, an open mind, a lot of common sense, a willingness to work hard and an ability to communicate clearly and effectively.

"Janice Rogers Brown has demonstrated all these qualities in abundance." Op-Ed The Record, August 9, 2003, page 5.

SOURCE: USDOJ: Office of Legal Policy For further information please contact Barbara Comstock in the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 514-2007.

Janice R. Brown Resumé

Birth: May 11, 1949 Greenville, Alabama

Legal Residence: California

Education: 1967 - 1969 California State University
1972 - 1974 B.A. degree

1974 - 1977 University of California School of Law
J.D. degree

2002 - 2004 University of Virginia School of Law
LL.M. degree

Bar Admittance: 1977 California

Military: 1977 - 1979 Legislative Counsel Bureau
Deputy Legislative Counsel

Experience: 1979 - 1987 California Department of Justice
Attorney General’s Office
Deputy Attorney General

1987 - 1990 State of California
Business, Transportation & Housing Agency
Deputy Secretary & General Counsel

1990 - 1991 Nielsen, Merksamer, Parinello, Mueller & Naylor
Senior Associate

1991 - 1994 Governor Pete Wilson’s Office
Legal Affairs Secretary

1994 - 1996 California Court of Appeals for the Third District
Associate Justice

1998 - 1999 University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law
Adjunct Professor

1996 - present California Supreme Court Associate Justice