Appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry, Brown served as a board member of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department in Austin from 2009 to 2014, helping to oversee the state’s juvenile prison and probation system.
In 2017, Brown was tapped by President Donald Trump to serve as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas. Confirmed by the United States Senate, Brown would become the chief federal law enforcement official for a sprawling quarter of the state, stretching from Sherman to Beaumont. Working with agents from the FBI, DEA, ATF, and IRS, and other agencies, Brown would lead the United States Attorney’s Office to historic levels of case production, aggressively pursuing justice without regard to politics, wealth, power, or position.
A particular focus of Brown’s tenure as United States Attorney was the prosecution of international drug trafficking organizations in East Texas courtrooms. Using international long-arm jurisdiction, Brown grew the Eastern District into one of the most active federal districts in the country in the extradition of drug suspects out of Colombia in 2018, traveling to Colombia and Mexico to meet with foreign law enforcement officials and to coordinate cross border prosecutions.
In May of 2020, Joe Brown resigned as United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas and returned home to represent individuals and businesses in the important legal matters that require a lawyer of substance – someone with the courage to stand up for what is right, regardless of the consequences.
Joe has a long history of community service. In 2002, he helped found the Grayson County Children’s Advocacy Center and served as president and board member of that organization for many years. He has been a long time member of the Sherman Kiwanis Club, and has served as a board member of the Circle Ten Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
A deacon in his church, Joe lives in Sherman with his wife and two daughters.