This week, host Austin Jenkins sits down for an in-depth interview with Nick Brown.
In October of 2021 President Biden appointed Brown to be U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington. He had been assistant U.S. Attorney in the same office from 2007-13, before leaving to become general counsel to Gov. Jay Inslee from 2013-17.
He is one of the youngest people, and the first black person, to serve as U.S. Attorney in the Western District. In that role, Brown supervises a staff of 160, including 77 lawyers, who investigate and prosecute a wide range of criminal cases.
He brings a different perspective to justice to his new role. He talks about his approach and beliefs during the interview: that law enforcement, while involved in criminal cases, is not the ultimate answer to crime; that the incarceration rate in the U.S. is too high, and does not ultimately work to deter crime; that the justice system needs to address a problematic history with people of color; and more.
One of Brown’s priorities is to expand his office’s civil rights division. In June he was chosen to lead the Civil Rights Subcommittee for the U.S. Attorney General’s Advisory Committee. Other priorities are combating hate crimes, and political violence.