Biography of Catherine Crier

An Emmy, duPont-Columbia, and Gracie Allen Award-winning journalist and the youngest state judge to ever be elected in Texas, Catherine Crier joined Court TV’s distinguished team of anchors in November 1999.  She served as Executive Editor, Legal News Specials, in addition to hosting Catherine Crier Live, a fast-paced, live daily series, covering the day’s “front-page” stories. 

Crier, a Texas-bred independent with a spirited passion for justice, released her first book, the New York Times Bestseller, The Case Against Lawyers in October, 2002.  In this eye-opening and plain-spoken treatise on the law, Crier shares her outrage at the state of the justice system and calls on American citizens to demand reform.  Her second book, A Deadly Game: The Untold Story of the Scott Peterson Investigation was released in March, 2005 and became a #1 New York Times bestseller. Her third book, Contempt—How the Right is Wronging American Justice, was published in September, 2006, and Final Analysis:  The Untold Story of the Susan Polk Murder Case was released in March, 2007. 

Crier has hosted episodes of Court TV’s signature primetime series The System and numerous other specials such as The Skakel Jury Speaks with Dominick Dunne and Catherine Crier, Osama bin Laden on Trial and Safe Passage: Voices from the Middle School, part of the network’s public affairs initiative Choices and Consequences.  Crier’s work on The System documentary The Interrogation of Michael Crowe was recognized with a duPont-Columbia award and Crier has received three Gracie Allen awards, presented by the Foundation for American Women in Radio and Television, for Outstanding Program Host, Outstanding Talk Show, and for the Catherine Crier Live special, Grandmothers: Voices from Oklahoma City. 

Prior to joining Court TV, Crier anchored The Crier Report for Fox News Channel, a live, hour-long nightly program, during which she interviewed the leading newsmakers of the day. Crier joined FNC after spending three and a half years at ABC News, where she served as a correspondent and as a regular substitute anchor for Peter Jennings on ABC’s World News Tonight, as well as a substitute host for Ted Koppel’s Nightline. She also worked as a correspondent on 20/20, the network’s primetime news magazine program. Crier was awarded a 1996 Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Journalism for her work on the segment “The Predators” which examined nursing home abuses throughout the United States.

Crier began her television career at CNN. She was co-anchor of both Inside Politics and The World Today, the premier nighttime newscast. Additionally, she hosted Crier & Company, a live, half-hour news talk show, that included a panel of female policy experts discussing popular national and international issues.

Prior to her accomplished career in television journalism, Crier presided over the 162nd District Court in Dallas County, TX, as a State District Judge. When she took the bench in 1984, she became the youngest elected state judge in Texas history. From 1982 to 1984, Crier was a civil litigation attorney in Dallas.  From 1978 to 1981, she was an Assistant District Attorney and Felony Chief Prosecutor for the Dallas County District Attorney’s office.

Crier currently manages her production company, Crier Communications, developing television, film and documentary projects. She is involved with many organizations and serves on several boards, including Soldiers For The Truth, dedicated to objective military reporting and assistance to America’s troops, PAX, an organization working to reduce gun violence in America that targets the nation’s children, The NY Law School Committee on Media and Law and Developments in Literacy, working to expand education for girls in the nation of Pakistan.  Crier, a native of Dallas, earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and international affairs from the University of Texas. She received a Juris Doctor in two and a half years from Southern Methodist University School of Law. Crier lives in Westchester County, New York.  In her free time, she raises and trains Arabian Horses and enjoys playing golf and scuba diving.