--- title: "Debra Marie Brown | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/debra-marie-brown" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # Debra Marie Brown U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi · U.S. District Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi - State: Mississippi - Role: U.S. District Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, N.D. Mississippi, 2013-present - The Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi and the first African-American woman to hold that position - First African-American U.S. district judge in Mississippi - Her appointment made her the first African-American woman to serve as chief judge in the Northern District of Mississippi ### Education - B.Arch. — Mississippi State University — 1987 - Bachelor of Architecture from Mississippi State University in — Mississippi State University — 1987 - University of Mississippi School of Law ### Additional information - Chief Judge: Assumed the role on June 11, 2021, succeeding Judge Sharion Aycock - Confirmation: The U.S. Senate confirmed her on November 4, 2013, by a unanimous 90–0 vote - Private practice, Jackson, MS, 1997-2013 - Architect, 1987-1994 - Born 1963 in Yazoo City, Mississippi. - Date of birth: 1963-01-01 - As Chief Judge, Brown presides over the court’s docket, oversees judicial administration, and represents the court in official matters. - Birth place: Yazoo City, MS ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394306) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394306) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1394306) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/418/debra-marie-brown/) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/418/debra-marie-brown/) - [Wikidata: Debra M. Brown](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q16194981) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/debra-marie-brown", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/debra-marie-brown", "name": "Debra Marie Brown | KnowJudges", "description": "Debra Marie Brown, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.