During the past 46 years, he has been involved representing law enforcement officers throughout the United States in over 100 officer involved shooting incidents.
SPRINGFIELD, MO, October 12, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Richard D. Crites, J.D., has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Richard D. Crites, J.D., always wanted to be in law enforcement, or to practice law. He worked his way through undergraduate college at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, and worked as a fireman for Rural Metropolitan Fire Department in Phoenix. He has owned and operated an eponymous law firm in Springfield, Mo. since 1979. His practice works primarily in the areas of representation of law enforcement officers, negligence actions and domestic relations, working to ensure that his clients receive favorable outcomes for their legal needs. Mr. Crites, who earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arizona in 1968, was admitted to practice by the Arizona Bar Association in 1968 and the Missouri Bar Association in 1978. He has also been admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court's Northern District of Texas, as well as the 8th and 9th circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Court for Arizona and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. After earning a law degree, Mr. Crites became an associate at Knez & Glatz in Tucson, Ariz. in 1968. In 1973, he advanced to the role of partner in the law firm Knez, Glatz & Crites.
Mr. Crites is believed to be the first attorney to have ever filed a damage suit on behalf of a law enforcement officer in the United States, when in 1970, he filed suit for Lawrence J. Novak, a Tucson police officer against an arrestee who slandered him in an internal affairs complaint. This was followed by a suit against an arrestee for assault and battery for injuries Officer Novak suffered when he was assaulted by the man whom he had arrested. Prior to these suits, it was generally accepted that being slandered or assaulted and injured was "part of the job" of being a police officer.
The resulting publicity which Mr. Crites received from these two suits brought him into contact with Chuck Remsberg, a founder of Caliber Press, which was a sponsor of the Street Survival Seminars, which are geared to effective law enforcement with an emphasis on officer safety.
In 1972, he was appointed as Juvenile Court Referee for the Pima County, Arizona Juvenile Court, where he served hearing Juvenile Court cases until 1976. In 1978, he moved to Springfield, Missouri, and from 1978 to 1979, he started the first in-house legal department and served as Chief Counsel for City Utilities of Springfield.
After he moved to Missouri, Mr. Crites' interest in law enforcement brought him into contact with the Missouri Sheriff's Association, and he graduated from the Missouri Sheriff's Training Academy in 2003. After his graduation, he became a deputy sheriff in Pulaski County, Missouri. After his Sheriff was defeated in election, he went to Stone County, Missouri, and then to Christian County, Missouri. He currently is a deputy sheriff in Lawrence County, Missouri, serving under Sheriff Bradley Delay. During his tenure as a deputy sheriff, Mr. Crites is believed to have been one of the oldest members of the SWAT team, in Stone County and Christian County, Missouri, a position which he thoroughly enjoyed.
Mr. Crites has taught various criminal law and law enforcement subjects for the Missouri Sheriff's Association, and has been a TASER Instructor. He has completed in 2007, the Los Angeles Police Department, Force Investigation Division Officer Involved Shooting course and he is a Certified Use of Force Analyst by the Force Science Institute of Mankato, Minn, in September 2010. During the past 46 years, he has been involved representing law enforcement officers throughout the United States in over 100 officer involved shooting incidents. Mr. Crites maintains his status as a licensed peace officer through the Missouri Department of Public Safety and as an instructor for the Missouri Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission.
While attending the University of Arizona, College of Law, in 1967, he received an Excellence in Insurance Law Award from Bancroft-Whitney Company, and in 1968, he received an Excellence in Criminal Law Award. While in law school, he co-authored for the Arizona Law Review an article, "Wiretapping and Eavesdropping in Arizona. A Legislative and Constitutional Analysis." In recognition of his numerous accomplishments, Mr. Crites was featured in the 1st edition of Who's Who of Emerging Leaders in America. He has also appeared in numerous editions of Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World and Who's Who in American Law.
Mr. Crites is the proud father of four children, Kimberly Garrett, L.P.C., Amy Lee Crites, Esq., Detective Kevin J. Crites of the Christian County Sheriff's Office and J. Peter Crites, M.D., an Orthopedic Surgeon in Springfield, Missouri, and he has six grandchildren whose company is the delight of his life.
Mr. Crites was raised to the Masonic Third Degree, by his father, E.B. Crites, who was the Master, from Montezuma Lodge, No. 35, F.&A.M., in Phoenix, Arizona, when he was 21 years of age and he received his 50 year pin from the Grand Lodge of Arizona, on May 15, 2015. He was what is believed to be the youngest member of the Royal Order of Jesters, Court 169, on May 18, 1973, when he was 29 years of age. He is a member of Abou Ben Adhem, Shrine Mosque in Springfield, Missouri, previously having been a member of Sabbar Shrine Temple in Tucson, Arizona.
About Marquis Who's Who :
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America , Marquis Who's Who has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America , Who's Who in the World , Who's Who in American Law , Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare , Who's Who in Science and Engineering , and Who's Who in Asia . Marquis publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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