Brown received his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, from Columbia College in 1985 and his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1988.

From 1996 to 2005, he served as an assistant United States attorney in the Long Island Criminal Division at the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, where he was elevated to deputy chief in 2001 and chief in 2003.

His nomination was part of a bipartisan package of judicial nominees which included Eric Komitee, Rachel Kovner, John Sinatra, and Mary Kay Vyskocil.

[7] On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.

[16] Brown has also invented several magical effects, including the Viking "Spirit Trumpet" and "Telekinetic Chess" illusions.

[17] Judge Brown was recently on The CW network show, Penn & Teller Fool Us, aired 3-31-2023.