LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — Louisiana’s Western District federal court has a new U.S. attorney after Ouachita Parish native Brandon B. Brown was sworn in at the Lafayette Courthouse earlier today.
Brown was nominated by President Joe Biden, Jr. on Nov. 15 and was confirmed by the United States Senate on Dec. 7.
“It is an honor to have been nominated and endorsed by the president and Senators Cassidy and Kennedy to serve as the United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana,” said Brown. “I am excited to serve alongside a team of exceptional public servants at the U.S. Attorney’s Office and with the dedicated law enforcement professionals throughout this district. This office will continue to partner with law enforcement and community partners to pursue equal justice under the law.”
Brown will lead an office of approximately 70 federal prosecutors and staff, located in Shreveport and Lafayette. The Western District of Louisiana covers the western part of Louisiana, with offices in Shreveport, Lafayette, Alexandria, Monroe, and Lake Charles.
Brown joined the Shreveport Criminal Division of the United States Attorney’s Office as an assistant U.S. attorney in November 2012. He worked in the general crimes area and prosecuted a wide range of criminal offenses. He has tried multiple cases to jury verdict, most notably, as trial counsel in United States v. Thomas Sanders, a multi-victim homicide case spanning multiple states, which culminated in the first death penalty verdict in the history of the Western District of Louisiana.
In March 2017, Brown was appointed as the Project Safe Neighborhoods Coordinator for the district, charged with coordinating two task forces comprised of federal and state law enforcement agencies with the goal of investigating and prosecuting firearm and high-end violent crime organizations in the district. He left the office in March 2018 to accept a position in private practice and then rejoined the Shreveport Criminal Division in October 2018 as the Shreveport Division Lead Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) attorney and the district’s Violent Crime Coordinator.
From 2007 to 2012, Brown served as an assistant district attorney at the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office in Monroe. While serving in the felony division, he prosecuted a wide range of offenses including sex crimes, homicides, robberies, narcotics, and public corruption, while also handling any appeals related to his cases. Most notably, he was trial counsel in State of Louisiana v. Edward L. Harris, a public corruption case in which the mayor of a municipality made improper payments to himself and town employees during his last days in office after losing reelection. He was also trial counsel in State of Louisiana v. Matt Banks, a “cold case,” revived after seven years, resulting in two life imprisonment sentences.
Brown grew up in Richwood, La., and graduated from Ouachita Parish High School. He is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University holding a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Information Systems (2002) and a Master of Business Administration (2004). Brown received his law degree from the Southern University Law Center in 2007, where he was the 1L class president, led the student recruitment committee, represented indigent defendants in the criminal clinical program, and served on the Moot Court Board. U.S. Attorney Brown is involved in activities in his community and is a member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc., and Mount Canaan Missionary Baptist Church in Shreveport.