District Attorney  Richard Brown was a superb and beloved family patriarch, public servant, role model and a great friend to many people. I was privileged to be one of those friends.

He was an outstanding jurist who, together with his colleagues, strove to advance the work and reputation of the Appellate Division, Second Department, when my father was its presiding justice. In addition to hearing cases, he enthusiastically embraced opportunities to improve the administration of justice by sharing the expertise he had acquired while serving as counsel to Governor Hugh Carey. In such capacity, he had interfaced with many administrative agencies and the legislature.

He cared very much about each case that he heard. While he was very collegial and worked hard to bring about a consensus among the judges, he sometimes issued dissenting opinions when he disagreed with a majority. On one occasion, after I had praised one of his dissenting opinions, I received a call from my father asking me if it was really necessary that I encourage members of the court to issue dissenting opinions. Given my father's respect for his colleagues' right to dissent, I think he was joking. However, I would not swear to that.