Mick Brown (judge)

[1] Brown's knee was affected by tuberculosis,[1] and he spent three years between 1948 and 1951 at the Wilson School for disabled children in Takapuna, where he was friends with Bruce McLaren.

[4] Brown initially pursued a career in teaching, but he was drawn to the law by a love of debating.

[1] After practising law in Auckland, Brown was appointed as a judge of the District Court in 1980,[5] becoming the first Māori to hold that position.

[1][notes 1] Following the Queen Street riot in December 1984, Brown acquitted DD Smash lead singer Dave Dobbyn of charges of behaving in a manner likely to cause violence against person or property and using insulting language.

[9] In the 1996 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the Youth Court, education and the community.