Judge Scott J. Crichton
Public officials and the general public to join them as they celebrate Annual Law Day at the DeSoto Parish Courthouse, located at 101 Texas Street in Mansfield. Guest speaker for the event will be the Honorable Scott J. Crichton, Judge of the First Judicial District Court in Caddo Parish
Judge Scott J. Crichton was born in 1954, and is a judge of the Louisiana 1st Judicial District Court in Shreveport, a position which he has held since 1991. Crichton was initially elected to the court in 1990 as a Democrat. He is running as a Republican in a bid to succeed the retiring Justice Jeffrey P. Victory for the District 2 seat on the seven member Louisiana Supreme Court. The nonpartisan blanket primary for the position will be conducted on November 4, 2014 in eleven northwest Louisiana parishes.
From 1981 until 1990, Crichton was a Caddo Parish Assistant District Attorney under the DA Paul Carmouche, in which capacity he prosecuted felonies, including capital murder. From 1885 to 1990, he also maintained a civil law practice. On December 8, 1990, he also maintained a civil law practice . On December 8, 1990, Crichton defeated another Democrat, Charles C. Grubb, for the 1st District Court, 11,053 (55.6 percent) to 8,844 (44.5 percent). Crichton was unopposed for the subsequent six-year terms on the district court in 1996, 2002, and 2008
As a district judge, Crichton has handled more than 25,000 criminal and civil cases. He is a former instructor at the Shreveport Police Academy. From 2011 to 2012, he was the president of the Louisiana District Judges Association. He is a former board member of the YMCA and a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.
Justice Victory had been expected to seek a third ten-year term on the Louisiana Supreme Court, but Victory, who is eight years Crichton’s senior, announced in August 2013 that he will retire from the bench on December 31, 2014. Because Judge Crichton will haver turned sixty by the time of the 2014 election., he can seek only one term on the Supreme Court because Louisiana state law forbids a lawyer aged seventy or above from qualifying for a judicial position.
Judge Crichton is known for his conservative rulings and avoidance of judicial activism. Outside the courtroom, he works with elementary and high school students with his “Don’t Let This Be You” program, which focuses upon such subjects as drinking and driving, sexting, and recently personal defense. Students are encouraged to attend this event to hear Judge Crichton speak.
For additional information regarding the Law Day event, contact Attorney Adrienne D. White, President of the DeSoto Parish Bar Association at 318-872-1111