Justice Armstead Brown

Justice Armstead Brown

Former Justice Armstead Brown was the 39th Justice on the Supreme Court and served from 1925-1946. 

He left school at age 14 to help support his family.  By age 21, he decided to pursue a career in law and joined his uncle, Judge J. R. Dowdell, of Lafayette, Alabama, as a clerk, where he read the law. 

In 1897, Brown was admitted to the Alabama Bar.  He remained in practice in the state capital of Montgomery for several years, then was appointed as judge of the city court. 

In 1915, Brown moved to Jacksonville to practice law, then to Miami, where his law practice flourished.  In 1925, Governor John Martin appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Florida Supreme Court.  He served on the court until his retirement in 1946. 

Five of his personal diaries from the 1940s, were donated to the Florida Supreme Court Library and are available to read on the library’s website.  They present a vivid picture of life on the court, and in Florida and elsewhere on the home front, during World War II.

Quick facts about Justice Brown:

• Served as Justice for 21 years and five (5) months from July 1, 1925 to December 1, 1946
• Served two terms as Chief Justice from December 4, 1925 to January 11, 1927 and January 1941 to January 1943.
• He was appointed at age 50.
• Born: June 6, 1875 - Talbotton, Georgia, on June 6, 1875
• Died: October 29, 1951 - New York, New York.