1937-

Ngati Kahu, Te Rarawa, and Aupouri (New Zealand Maori) judge

Brown's birth mother died of TB when he was a baby of seven months and he was informally fostered in Auckland by a white woman and her daughter, in a loving family. He knew his elderly birth father, but had very little contact with him. He spent three years in a TB sanitarium when he was a child, where he became a voracious reader. A few years later the TB recurred and he had surgery which left him permanently lame.

He went to university but failed to complete either a BA in English or a teacher training course, before turning to law. He started in commercial law and then went into criminal practice and became more and more concerned about the links between race, poverty and crime. He eventually became the principal Youth Court Justice for New Zealand in 1989. He has also been chancellor of Auckland University.

References

Ashton, Lloyd. "A Sense of Justice," Mana, no. 39 (April-May 2001), p. 30-34

Indexes

Polynesian, Melanesian
New Zealand
20th Century
21st Century
Education, Teaching, Libraries
Law
Medical Problems, Chronic Illness
Birth or Infancy
Unmarried Mother, Single Parent (Mother or Father) Unable to Cope
Others ("Strangers")
Adoptive/Foster Family Included Birth Child(ren)
Trans-Racial, Trans-Tribal, International or Trans-Cultural Adoption or Fostering
Customary or Traditional Adoption, Informal and Extra-Legal Care
Parent(s) Died, Disappeared or Became Incapacitated
Always in Contact or Knew Identities