24th Judicial Court Judge Shayna Beevers Morvant, Louisiana Center for Law and Civil Education President, presented the Judge Benjamin Jones Judges in the Classroom Award to Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Scott J. Crichton.
LSU Law alum and Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Scott J. Crichton (’80) was named the recipient of the Judge Benjamin Jones Judges in the Classroom Award by the Louisiana Center for Law and Civic Education on Friday, June 10, at the General Assembly of the Louisiana State Bar Association Annual Meeting.
“It has been my firm belief for many years that as judges, we should educate young people about basic concepts of criminal law and the real-life consequences of violating the law. In other words, we expect our children to obey the rule of law, but we do not adequately teach them what those rules are. Simply saying ’don’t break the law’ is not enough,” Crichton said. “I believe that knowledge is critical, and I encourage my judicial colleagues to educate our children with knowledge of basic legal concepts to enable them to intelligently exercise the power of choice.”
Name for retired 4th Judicial District Court Judge Benjamin Jones, the award honors a member of the judiciary who has contributed greatly to the law-related education of Louisiana youth. Jones served the judiciary for 22 years, created the Judges in the Classroom program, and is a facilitator of judges visiting schools to impart civic education and to encourage students. Jones, who is still active in the program, currently serves as the 4th Judicial District Court Judicial Administrator.
Crichton is a member of the Judges in the Classroom/Students in the Courtroom Task Force, which connects judges with local schools to instruct on law and the judiciary by incorporating Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer’s (’80) newly added strategy to build statewide pedagogical partnerships.
Prior to joining the Louisiana Supreme Court bench in 2015, Crichton served 24 years as a judge with the First Judicial District Court (Shreveport/Caddo Parish), presiding in both the civil and criminal divisions. As a district judge, Crichton proactively developed a program that teaches young people about the consequences of certain behavior in an effort to deter them from seeing him in his professional capacity as a judge. During his time on the district bench, some 20,000 students benefitted from his teachings, which often included parents. He has re-instituted his programs as a Justice and teaches students and their parents in standing-room-only auditoriums and gyms.
In addition to regularly teaching at the LSU Law Trial Advocacy Program and serving as an adjunct faculty member at Tulane Law School, Crichton works inside and outside of his district, visiting students to expound on the rule of law. Inspired by an experience as a district court judge when a juvenile litigant whose lack of knowledge of the law and consequences resulted in a negative penalty, Crichton decided to make a difference by devising a way to inform young people about the law. He created The Crime Consequences and the Power of Choice program, which is a PowerPoint presentation he uses to teach about the law and the consequences of bad choices. He has shared the program with other judges via the Louisiana Supreme Court website and various Continuing Legal Education seminars to use as they visit schools or host students in their courtrooms. The presentation helps viewers by defining the justice system in an easily comprehensible manner.
