Simon Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood
Simon Denis Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, PC (born 9 April 1937) is a British lawyer and former Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
The Lord Brown of Eaton‑under‑Heywood PC | |
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Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |
In office 1 October 2009 – 9 April 2012 | |
Nominated by | Jack Straw |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Preceded by | Position created |
Succeeded by | Lord Carnwath of Notting Hill |
Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | |
In office 13 January 2004 – 30 September 2009 | |
Preceded by | The Lord Hobhouse of Woodborough |
Succeeded by | Position abolished |
Lord Justice of Appeal | |
In office 1992–2004 | |
High Court Judge | |
In office 1984–1992 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Simon Denis Brown 9 April 1937 |
Nationality | British |
Spouse(s) | Jennifer Buddicom ( m. 1963) |
Alma mater | Worcester College, Oxford |
Occupation | Judge |
Profession | Barrister |
Military service | |
Branch/service | British Army |
Years of service | 1955-57 |
Rank | Lieutenant |
Unit | Royal Artillery |
Early life
![](../I/m/Stowe_School_-_geograph.org.uk_-_582994.jpg)
The son of Denis Baer Brown and Edna Elizabeth Brown (née Abrahams), Brown was born on 9 April 1937.[1] He was educated at Stowe School, an independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire.[2]
He undertook National Service in the Royal Artillery from 1955 to 1957. He was commissioned on 24 March 1956 as a second lieutenant.[3] He was transferred to the Regular Army Reserves of Officers on 29 July 1957, thereby ending his active service.[4] He was promoted to lieutenant on 7 January 1961. [5]
He graduated from Worcester College, Oxford.
Legal career
Brown was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1961, having been Harmsworth Scholar.[1] From 1979 to 1984, he was a Recorder and First Junior Treasury Counsel (Common Law). In 1980, he served as Master of the Bench at the Middle Temple.
Judicial career
Brown was appointed a High Court Judge in 1984 and assigned to the Queen's Bench Division, receiving a knighthood on his appointment. He became a Lord Justice of Appeal, a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, in 1992 and was made a Privy Counsellor in the same year. He was Vice-President of the Civil Division from 2001 to 2003. On 13 January 2004, he was appointed a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, and therefore became a life peer with the title Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, of Eaton-under-Heywood in the County of Shropshire, sitting as a crossbencher.[6] He and nine other Lords of Appeal in Ordinary became Justices of the Supreme Court upon that body's inauguration on 1 October 2009.
In 2011, Brown gave a concurring judgment in R v Gnango[7] in which he stated that "[t]he general public would be astonished and appalled if in those circumstances the law attached liability for the death only to the gunman who actually fired the fatal shot."[8] The decision of the Supreme Court and Brown's judgment in particular were criticised by former Lord Justice of Appeal the Sir Richard Buxton and Professor Dennis J. Baker <https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2198408>, for tenuous reasoning in an attempt to mollify public opinion.[9][10]
Personal life
He has been married to Jennifer Buddicom since 31 May 1963; they have two sons and one daughter (Benedict, Daniel and Abigail).
References
- "BROWN OF EATON-UNDER-HEYWOOD". Who's Who. Oxford University Press. December 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- "Simon Denis Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton under Heywood". thePeerage. Retrieved 5 November 2006.
- "No. 40772". The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 May 1956. p. 2692.
- "No. 41142". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 August 1957. p. 4642.
- "No. 42243". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 January 1961. p. 83.
- "No. 57180". The London Gazette. 16 January 2004. p. 591.
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- Regina v Armel Gnango [2011] UKSC 59 (14 December 2011)
- BBC News, "Conviction reinstated over New Cross crossfire murder", BBC News Online, (14 December 2011)
- R. Buxton, "Being an accessory to one's own murder", Criminal Law Review, (2008), no. 4, pp 275-281
- J. Rogers, "Shooting (and judging) in the dark?", Archbold Review, (2012), 1, pp 8-9