Raymond A. Brown

Raymond A. Brown (1915 – October 9, 2009) was an American criminal defense lawyer who represented a wide variety of high-profile clients, ranging from politicians to accused spies, including New Jersey state senator Angelo Errichetti (convicted in the Abscam case), boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter and "Dr. X" physician Mario Jascalevich.

Brown was born in Fernandina Beach, Florida and moved as a child to Jersey City, New Jersey. He attended the historically black college Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and earned his law degree at Fordham University School of Law, while working as a longshoreman to cover the costs of tuition. He went into solo practice during a time when few large firms would hire African American attorneys. While serving in the United States Army, he saw how poorly African American soldiers were treated.

During the 1960s, he worked on defending African Americans arrested during the Civil Rights Movement. In a 1964 case, Brown represented electrical engineer John W. Butenko, who was charged with passing defense secrets to the Soviet Union and was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. He defended students who had been arrested for taking part in building takeovers during the Columbia University protests of 1968, including his own son.

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