The Honorable Ada Brown (R)

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Personal Information

Justice Ada Brown was appointed to the Fifth District Court of Appeals on Sept. 3, 2013. She brings both civil and criminal law experience to the appellate bench. As a criminal prosecutor with the Dallas County District Attorney's office, she tried more than one hundred jury trials to verdict. Justice Brown specialized in prosecuting internet crimes against children and brought more than 500 pedophiles to justice.

Justice Brown served as the judge of Dallas County Criminal Court No. 1, the oldest criminal court in Dallas County. She presided over nearly two thousand criminal cases while on the trial court bench. Before her appointment to the appellate bench, Justice Brown was a civil litigator at the McKool Smith law firm where she focused on patent infringement and commercial litigation cases.

During the course of her career, Justice Brown earned the respect of her peers, who selected her to be a Texas Monthly Magazine's Super Lawyers Rising Star in 2005, 2012, and 2013.

Justice Brown is dedicated to public service. In 2014, Governor Perry awarded her the Yellow Rose of Texas Award, which recognizes outstanding Texas women for significant contributions to their communities. Justice Brown served as Commissioner for the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education and then as Commissioner for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Justice Brown frequently teaches trial advocacy at continuing legal education seminars for attorneys and judges. She is a member of the SCRIBES American Society of Legal Writers and a member of the Dallas County, Collin County, JL Turner, American and National Bar Associations. Justice Brown is also a member of Mensa.

Justice Brown speaks French and Spanish and enjoys reading and writing about legal issues. She was awarded a best volunteer editorial columnist award by the Dallas Morning News Editorial Board in 2012 and her article "Batson and Peremptory Strikes in Criminal and Civil Cases" earned a best feature story award from the State Bar of Texas in 2008.

Justice Brown is a graduate of Spelman College and Emory University School of Law. She is one of two African-American appellate jurists in the State of Texas.