MS SC552

Recognizes United States District Judge Debra M. Brown of the Northern District of Mississippi as the state's first African American female Chief Federal Judge, with her investiture ceremony held on June 11, 2021, in Greenville.

Judge Brown was nominated by President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate in 2013, becoming Mississippi's first African American female Federal District Judge.

Brown is a Yazoo City native and Mississippi State University graduate with degrees in both Architecture (1987) and Law from University of Mississippi School of Law (1997), making her the only lawyer in Mississippi with degrees in both fields.

Prior to her judicial appointment, she practiced law for 16 years, specializing in commercial construction litigation at Phelps Dunbar and later as shareholder at Wise Carter Child & Caraway, while serving in leadership roles in multiple bar associations.

Resolution directs that this recognition be presented to Chief Judge Brown and her family, forwarded to the Federal District Court of the Northern District of Mississippi, Mississippi's Congressional delegation, and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.