For unto whomsoever much is given, of him
shall be much required…Luke 12:48

I was born in 1954 at Willis Knighton Memorial Hospital (when there was just one WK!). My father and his ancestors were multi-generation Minden and Webster Parish residents; my mother and her family, including her grandfather (a Caddo district judge in 1906), were multi-generation Shreveport residents. I grew up in Minden, attending public school through the eighth grade.

In the fall of 1968, at the age of 14, I entered my freshman year at Webb School, a boarding school in the mountains of middle Tennessee. The school had an enrollment of about 200 and it was located in Bell Buckle (a community larger than a hamlet, smaller than a town). It was a tough school in austere surroundings where the emphasis was on traditional academics and discipline. Of particular significance, Webb had an honor code, “Noli Res Subdole Facere”, meaning “do nothing on the sly”.
In 1971, some members of the junior and senior classes at Webb were allowed to attend a special three-week program at North Carolina Outward Bound near Morganton. It was touted as a survival course with the OB motto, “to serve, to strive and not to yield”. I was 16 years old and although I was neither an athlete nor outdoorsman, I enthusiastically signed up. The daily regimen included a dawn seven-mile run in the mountains followed by “showering” under a nearly freezing waterfall, and then lectures, hiking, mountain climbing, and obstacle courses designed to push us to our limits. Ultimately, we engaged in a 72 hour “solo” in which each individual OB student camped in isolation with only a bag of peanuts and a jug of water. The experience was an incredible – and exhausting - three weeks. Graduating from Outward Bound in 1971 and Webb School in 1972 taught me a strong work ethic, to always maintain my sense of integrity and honor and to strive to be the best that I can be in life.

In the fall of 1972, I entered LSU in Baton Rouge in which I encountered a student body of about 25,000. Needless to say, coming from Minden, then a city of about 16,000, and Webb, with a student body of only 200, I discovered a number of exciting “distractions”. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the academics as well as the social aspect, including membership in a fraternity, Kappa Alpha. I graduated in 1976; and after working in Shreveport for a year, I returned to Baton Rouge, entering LSU Law School in the fall of 1977. During the orientation phase, the dean, “borrowing” a phrase from another dean of a law school advised, “look to your left and to your right; at least one of you will not be here at the end of this year”. I gladly accepted the challenge and graduated with a Juris Doctor degree in 1980.

I accepted an offer from the First Judicial District Court for a one-year clerkship beginning August 1980. In August 1981, I was hired by District Attorney Paul Carmouche and sworn in as an assistant district attorney, a position in which I would serve a decade – four years as a full time ADA and an additional six years in a part-time capacity. From 1985 to 1990, I maintained a civil practice, initially as an associate in a law firm and later as a sole practitioner. You can look at separate pages in this section for highlights regarding my practice of civil and criminal law.

On December 8, 1990, following a highly contested campaign, I was elected to the First Judicial District Court and sworn in January 1, 1991. I was reelected without opposition in 1996, 2002 and 2008 to three additional six year terms. (To read more about my 18 plus years in the judiciary, go to the next tab).

I owe so much to my parents, Mary and Tom Crichton. They provided me with love, support and guidance. Unfortunately, they did not live long enough to see the true fruits of their labor and to see me elected judge. My mother died in 1983 and my father died in 1989, both from cancer. I feel blessed to have had such fine parents.
Finally, I am fabulously blessed to be married to my wife, Susie (for almost a quarter century!), and to have two sons, both of whom are in college. The Crichton family motto is God Send Grace. There is no doubt that God has sent grace to me.

I end this “bio” in the way that I started it. “For unto whomever much is given, of him shall be much required”. In addition to my judgeship, I have been incredibly blessed in life and I am thankful. Because of these blessings I feel especially compelled to do all that I can to honor my family and to make our community a better place. So, I carry this philosophy with me in my family relations as well as on the bench and I put my heart and soul into each day. I will continue to expect, in fact demand, more of myself in accordance with the Outward Bound tradition, “to serve, to strive and not to yield”.

For a recent talk on various points, including my background and passion about living in Shreveport as well as the importance of “giving back”, click here for a 45 minute speech which I delivered on January 12, 2010 to the North Shreveport Business Association.

P.S.

“I can no other answer make, but thanks, and thanks”.

                             -- William Shakespeare