Flags to be flown at half-staff after death of longtime Sedgwick County judge
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- Gov. Kelly ordered flags at half-staff at the capital and court buildings to honor Judge Bruce Brown.
- Brown served as a Sedgwick County judge since 2008.
- In recent years, Brown presided over high-profile Kansas cases including multiple murder trials.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has ordered flags be flown at half-staff at the state capitol complex and all court buildings in honor of a longtime Sedgwick County District Court judge who died Aug. 21.
Judge Bruce Brown, who served as the Division 10 Judge in the 18th Judicial Court District, died following “an extended illness,” according to news releases from the governor’s office and the Kansas Office of Judicial Administration. He was 64.
Flags will be flown at half staff until Brown’s burial. His funeral is set for Aug. 30.
Brown, who was known around the courthouse for his kindness and even demeanor, was remembered Friday by colleagues for serving the community “with dignity and honor.”
“As a criminal judge, he made sure proceedings before him were fair, just, and followed the law,” Sedgwick County District Court Chief Judge Jeffrey Goering said in a statement. “He was a skilled judge, a valuable colleague, and a good friend.”
“We appreciate his service to our courts and the people of Kansas. We extend our deepest sympathy to his family, friends, and court colleagues,” Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert said.
Brown was appointed to the bench in 2008 after serving as a Wichita Municipal Court judge for 12 years, from 1997 to 2009. He started his career as an assistant district attorney in Woodward, Oklahoma, in 1986, then went on to work as an assistant D.A. in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a private practice lawyer, an attorney for the U.S. Army JAG Corps and a Salina Municipal Court prosecutor.
He received his bachelor’s degree from Oral Roberts University and his juris doctorate from the Pepperdine University School of Law in 1986.
Brown presided over a number of notable criminal matters in recent years, including: the 2014 murder of radio station employee Daniel Flores, the case where Wichita Police Officer Brian Arterburn was run over by a fleeing suspect in 2017, the 2017 decapitation murder of Wichita grandmother Micki Davis, the 2021 murder of QuikTrip security guard Will Robinson, and the state-level case filed against notorious swatter Tyler Barriss, whose fake 911 call led to the fatal police shooting of Andrew Finch in 2017.
“Judge Brown had a long career of service to his community and commitment throughout his tenure on the bench,” Kelly said in her news release. “On behalf of the State of Kansas, I thank him for his dedication to upholding the law.”
This story was originally published August 22, 2025 at 2:16 PM.
