House Judiciary Chairman Jack Brooks has represented Texas' Ninth District for twenty-one terms. An attorney from Crowly, Louisiana, Mr. Brooks attended the University of Texas. He served in the Marines from 1942 to 1945, and now lives in Beaumont, Texas.
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The controversial and deeply emotional issues of abortion, gun control and civil rights, among others, are within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee. In contrast to most other committees, whose interests center in programs or finances, Judiciary oversees divisive issues of social importance. In addition to civil liberties, Judiciary's jurisdiction includes judicial proceedings, bankruptcy, apportionment, espionage and counterfeit, constitutional amendments, patents and copyrights, immigration, and other areas of national safety and operation.