Justice
Robert L. Brown, former associate justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court, will deliver the Founders Day address and receive an honorary Doctor of Civil Law during the October 11 Convocation at Sewanee: The University of the South, in Sewanee, Tennessee. Justice Robert Brown served as associate justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court for more than 20 years before stepping down in 2012 and joining Friday, Eldredge & Clark as an Of Counsel attorney. Among Browns significant opinions during his time on the bench were those striking down term limits for U.S. senators and representatives, which was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court; holding Arkansas method of public school funding unconstitutional; and protecting the rights of privacy for couples adopting children. Browns 2010 book,
Defining Moments: Historic Decisions by Arkansas Governors from McMath through Huckabee, has been praised for its unusual combination of historical research and personal familiarity. He received Sewanees Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2006 and was the first recipient, in 2010, of the Arkansas Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program Justice Robert L. Brown Community Support Award.