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Mark Brown

Mark Brown

Professor

Department

  • Law School

Contact Information

Biography

Mark Brown holds Capital's Newton D. Baker/Baker & Hostetler Chair. He joined the faculty in 2003 after having taught at Stetson University, the University of Illinois and The Ohio State University. Professor Brown has authored and co-authored works in various books and academic journals, including the Boston College Law Review, the Cornell Law Review, the Hastings Law Journal, the Iowa Law Review, the University of Illinois Law Review, the Ohio State Law Journal, the American University Law Review, and the Oregon Law Review, as well as others. Prior to academia, Professor Brown clerked for the Honorable Harry Wellford, Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He also served as a Supreme Court Fellow under the Chief Justice of the United States during the 1993 October Term. His research interests include Constitutional Law and Constitutional Litigation, courses he also teaches. He has also taught Civil Procedure, Administrative Law, Criminal Law, and Criminal Procedure. His public interest litigation presently focuses on public access to the political process.
Degrees
  • LL.M., University of Illinois College of Law
  • J.D., valedictorian, University of Louisville School of Law
  • B.S., University of Dayton
Scholarship

Books and Book Chapters

Brown, CIVIL RIGHTS & STRATEGY SERIES -- SECTION 1983 LITIGATION (2023).

Brown, Marijuana and Religious Freedom in the United States, in PROHIBITION, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM AND HUMAN RIGHTS: REGULATING TRADITIONAL DRUG USE (Labate & Cavnar, eds., 2014) (Springer).

Brown & Kinports, CONSTITUTIONAL LITIGATION UNDER § 1983 (3d ed. 2013) (Lexis) (with Teacher’s Manual and 2020 Supplement).

Brown, A Primer on Attorney’s Fees Under § 1988, 22 CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION AND ATTORNEY FEES ANNUAL HANDBOOK (Saltzman, ed., 2006).

Brown, Individual Immunity Under Section 1983: Absolute is Constant but Qualified is Divisive, 14 CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION AND ATTORNEY FEES ANNUAL HANDBOOK (Saltzman, ed., 1999).

Brown, The Changing Fourth Amendment: An Unfortunate Devolution, CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES IN POLICING (Sewell, ed., 1999).

Law Journals

Brown, A Critical and Historical Analysis of Ohio’s Post-Millennium Regression to Major-Party Monopoly, 50 HASTINGS CONST. L.Q. 227 (2023).

Brown, Candidate Debates in Ohio: Can Corporations Fund the Major Parties?, 83 OHIO ST. L.J. 160 (2022).

Brown, Bruce's "Other" Supreme Court Case, 48 STETSON L. REV. 311 (2019).

Brown, Is Privacy on Life Support?, 44 CAP. U. L. REV. 671 (2016).

Brown, Serving State Officers in Official-Capacity Actions: Is Mail An Option?, 31 ST. LOUIS U. PUB. L. REV. 383 (2012).

Brown, Qualified Immunity and Interlocutory Fact-Finding in the Courts of Appeals, 114 PENN. ST. L. REV. 1317 (2010).

Brown, Structural Limitations on Non-Legislative Regulations of Federal Elections, 7 DARTMOUTH L. J. 260 (2009).

Brown, The Fall and Rise of Qualified Immunity: From Hope to Harris, 9 NEV. L. J. 185 (2008).

Brown, Policing Ballot Access: Lessons From Nader’s 2004 Run for President, 35 CAP. U. L. REV. 165 (2006).

Brown, Ballot Fees as Impermissible Qualifications for Federal Office, 54 AM. U. L. REV. 1283 (2005).

Brown, Closing the Crusade: A Brief Response to Professor Woodhouse, 34 CAP. U. L. REV. 331 (2005).

Brown, A Primer on Attorney’s Fees Under § 1988, 37 URBAN LAWYER 663 (2005), reprinted in 22 CIVIL RIGHTS LITIGATION AND ATTORNEY FEES ANNUAL HANDBOOK (Saltzman, ed., 2006)

Brown, Rescuing Children from Abusive Parents: The Constitutional Value of Pre Deprivation Process, 65 OHIO ST. L.J. 913 (2004).

Brown, Affirmative Inaction: Stories from a Small Southern School, 75 TEMPLE L. REV. 201 (2002).

Brown, Deterring Bully Government: A Sovereign Dilemma, 76 TULANE L. REV. 149 (2001).

Brown, Weathering Constitutional Change, 2000 U. ILL. L. REV. 1091.

Brown, The Failure of Fault Under § 1983: Municipal Liability for State Law Enforcement, 84 CORNELL L. REV. 1503 (1999).

Brown, Popularizing Ballot Access: The Front Door to Election Reform, 58 OHIO ST. L.J. 1281 (1997).

Brown, Gender Discrimination in the Supreme Court's Clerkship Selection Process, 75 OREGON L. REV. 59 (1996).

Brown, A Case for Pregnancy-Based Unemployment Insurance, 29 U. MICH. J. L. REF. 41 (1995-1996) (symposium).

Brown, The Demise of Constitutional Prospectivity: New Life for Owen?, 79 IOWA L. REV. 273 (1994).

Brown & Greenberg, On Formally Undecidable Propositions of Law: LegalIndeterminacy and the Implications of Meta-Mathematics, 43 HAST. L.J. 1439 (1992).

Brown, Accountability in Government and Section 1983, 25 U. MICH. J.L. REF. 53 (1991).

Brown, Correlating Municipal Liability and Official Immunity Under Section 1983, 1989 U. ILL. L. REV. 625.

Brown, De-Federalizing Common Law Torts: Empathy for Parratt, Hudson and Daniels, 28 B.C. L. REV. 813 (1987).

Brown, Criminal Law, 11 NOVA L. REV. 1217 (1987).

Brown, The Psychedelic Perspective: The Freedom of Religion Defense, 11 AM. IND. L. REV. 125 (1983).

Note, Whose Life (Insurance) Is It Anyway? Life Insurance and Divorce In America, 22 J. FAM. L. 95 (1983-1984).

Mass Media (select pieces)

Brown, "Do Ohio officials have the authority to order closures and other coronavirus measures?, CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER, April 19, 2020.

Brown, "Our 'socialist' Founding Fathers just called it good government," CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER, March 11, 2020.

Brown, "Denying electors their discretion defies founders' intent," COLUMBUS DISPATCH, Sep. 23, 2019.

Brown, "Constitution supports neither choice for bureau," COLUMBUS DISPATCH, Nov. 29, 2017.

Brown, "Proposed independent redistricting commission is unconstitutional," CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER, Aug. 25, 2012.

Brown, "Warrant Needed Before Taking Children," COLUMBUS DISPATCH, Feb. 19, 2011. Brown, "Petitioning Privately is Not a Problem," COLUMBUS DISPATCH, April 10, 2010.

Brown, “Bill would make life easier for minor-party candidates,” COLUMBUS DISPATCH, November 18, 2009.

Brown, “Why Americans Should Support Third Parties,” COLUMBUS DISPATCH, February 12, 2008.

Beattie and Brown, “Ohio Supreme Court Ruling Puts Governor’s Veto Power at Risk,” CLEVELAND PLAIN DEALER, August 10, 2007.

Brown, “Ganging Up on Ralph Nader,” PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW, August 1, 2007.

Brown, “Why the Fifth Circuit Was Wrong About Tom DeLay,” JURIST, August 21, 2006 www.jurist.law.pitt.edu.

Brown, “Politics in Pennsylvania: Stifling Ralph Nader and Open Ballots,” JURIST, August 25, 2006, www.jurist.law.pitt.edu.

Brown, “Democrats behind Nader campaign ‘fraud’,” REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN (Waterbury, Conn.), Sept. 4, 2006, at 1A.

Brown, “In Defense of Manual Recounts,” JURIST, November 18, 2002 www.jurist.law.pitt.edu.

Brown, “A legislative solution will not be immune to challenge,” TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT, Dec. 8, 2000, 14 A.

Brown, “Legislature has opportunity to be fair to voters and candidates,” ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, Dec. 3, 2000, at 7D.

Brown, “High Court May Be Guilty of Hiring Bias,” NAT. L. J., Nov. 30, 1998, at A21.

PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION (selected cases)

Supreme Court of the United States

Filed amici curiae brief on behalf of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, New York County Bar Association, and Center for Constitutional Rights in Camreta v. Greene, 563 U.S. 692 (2011) (arguing that government should procure warrant before seizing young children who are allegedly abused; Supreme Court ruled that matter was moot).

Filed amicus curiae brief on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union in Hope v. Pelzer, 536 U.S. 730 (2002) (successfully arguing that qualified immunity should not turn only on existence of factually similar reported cases).

Filed merits brief on behalf of prisoner in Parke v. Raley, 506 U.S. 20 (1992) (unsuccessfully arguing that state should have burden of proving validity of previous convictions used for sentence enhancement).