Will Crain
Republican | Louisiana
Candidate Profile
Verified Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Will Crain
Party
Republican
Election Year
2019
Election
Primary
Race
Assoc. Justice, 1st Supreme Court Dist.
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
LSU Law Center, Baton Rouge, J.D., 1986
LSU, Baton Rouge, Accounting, 1983
Bogalusa High School, Bogalusa, H.S., 1979
WORK & MILITARY
(Candidate did not provide)
AFFILIATIONS
Youth Service Bureau, Director, Covington Presbyterian Church
Trustee, St Timothy United Methodist Church, Trustee
Republican Men’s Club, Member, Republican Women’s Club
Associate Member, Habitat For Humanity, Volunteer
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Judge, 22nd Judicial District, 2009-2012
Judge, 1st Cir. Court of Appeal, 2013-present
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
(Candidate did not provide)
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (6)
LABI
AFL-CIO
St Tammany Parish Republican Party
Washington Parish Republican Party
Louisiana Chemical Association
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
The Ten Commandments should not be displayed in public school buildings or court houses.
Disagree
NATIONAL SECURITY
Islamic law (Sharia) should take precedence over national and state laws where there are Islamic majority communities in the U. S.
Strongly Disagree
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which permitted our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
George Washington's comment that “Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society” is still true today.
Strongly Agree
What in the nature of mankind caused America’s Founders to carefully define, separate, and limit powers in the Constitution?
Man is born with a sinful nature. Only through repentance, acceptance of Christ as our savior and God’s grace are we aligned with God and saved from this sinful nature. Our Federal Constitution was drafted to grant specific powers to a federal government, with those not specially granted being reserved to the states. The purpose was to allow power to remain with the people rather than an unresponsive government. Likewise, the smaller the size of government, the greater freedom for the people.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
My faith, family and work ethic are the values that guide me every day. I am a Christian. As I have matured in my Christian faith, my reliance on and belief in the values taught by my religion have grown stronger. I believe in a single God in three forms, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I believe we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of(not guaranteed) happiness. These rights cannot be taken from a free people by anyone, including an overreaching government. These values are best learned in an intact traditional family, which our society should encourage and celebrate.
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges allowing members of the same sex to marry, which justice’s opinion in that case most closely approximates your understanding of marriage?
Justice Clarence Thomas
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and immigration, which of the following best describes you overall?
Very Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
As an appeals court judge my opinions(over 300) are published for public consumption. I have more published opinions than any judge over my 7 years as an appeals court judge. But, the judiciary is not the policy-making branch of government. Consequently, our canons for ethical conduct limit my ability to make a record of such personally held views.
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
Service on the Supreme Court should be the culmination of distinctive service at every level of the profession. Only I have served with distinction at every level of the legal system. I maintained a private law practice for 22 years, trying judge and jury cases in state and federal courts throughout the state. I left a successful law practice and was elected district judge for one of the busiest district courts in the state, reducing a felony caseload from 325 to 65 cases in less than 2 years, while protecting our safety. I have served the last 7 years on the busiest appeal court in the state, authoring over 300 opinions, which reflect my core belief that judges must interpret, not make law. My appeals court in 2018 decided over 600 cases, while the other appeals court in this Supreme Court district decided just over 200 cases. I am Immediate Past President of the Judicial College, which educates judges across the state. I’m the most qualified candidate for Supreme Court.
In what areas of law have you practiced?
My law firm and my 22-year law practice focused on civil law, which is 80% of the cases decided at the appeals court and Supreme Court levels. My district court area is the safest in the state.
E-mail address and phone number for voters to reach you:
judgewilljcrain@gmail.com. (985)869-3628
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
I am a Christian, conservative judge with the record to prove it. My allegiance to the fair and independent application of the rule of law has been recognized by endorsements from business and labor, elected officials and government watchdogs. Qualifications and experience matter for the Supreme Court and I have the qualifications and experience that matter. I ask for and would be honored to have your vote and support.
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
The U.S. Constitution and my state constitution should be interpreted as living documents, rather than using a strict constructionist or originalist approach in judicial decisions.
Strongly Disagree
There are times when American judges should alter U.S. case law in order to comply with foreign case law.
Strongly Disagree
Which current U.S. Supreme Court justice best reflects your judicial philosophy?
Justice Neil Gorsuch. He understands the role of a judge in our constitutional system
Which U.S. president serving after 1960 best reflects your political philosophy?
Ronald Reagan then Donald Trump
What is the proper use of legislative history in interpreting statutory law?
Legislative history is evidence of legislative intent, which is the goal of interpreting statutes. Laws must be viewed in the context in which they were passed in order to determine what the legislature intended to address when the law was passed. If a judge fails to interpret law in the context in which it passed, the judge risks making law, which is not the role of a judge. When a judge makes law, the peoples’ will at the time the law was passed by the legislature, which is reflected in popularly passed legislation, will not be honored. In authoring over 300 opinions as an appeals court judge, I have consistently followed this fundamental understanding of the role of a judge.
What specific text in the Declaration of Independence provides the critical basis for individual rights and the form of government guaranteed in the United States Constitution?
“We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
