Jan Crawford
Chief Legal Correspondent for CBS News & Best-Selling Author of Supreme Conflict
Jan Crawford
Chief Legal Correspondent for CBS News & Best-Selling Author of Supreme Conflict
Biography
Jan Crawford is the chief legal correspondent for CBS News and a recognized authority on the Supreme Court. Her 2007 book, Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for the Control of the United States Supreme Court gained widespread critical acclaim and was an instant New York Times Bestseller.
She started covering the Court in 1994 for the Chicago Tribune and served as the Supreme Court analyst for The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. She then became a law and political correspondent for all ABC News programs before joining CBS in January 2010.
In her three-plus decades on the Supreme Court beat, Crawford has covered all major judicial appointments and confirmation hearings. She has interviewed seven justices, including the first-ever network interviews with Chief Justice John Roberts and the late Justice John Paul Stevens.
Crawford began her journalism career at the Tribune in 1987 and started covering legal affairs in 1993 after her graduation from the University of Chicago Law School. The newspaper awarded her its highest award for her role on a team of reporters covering the presidential election of 2000 and the legal battles over the White House. She won the same prize for her 13-part series on the post-civil rights South, a project that brought her back to her native Alabama. Her numerous other journalism awards include the Edward R. Murrow and ABA Silver Gavel Awards, as part of CBS Evening News coverage of the landmark Dobbs decision overturning Roe v Wade.
Crawford graduated from the University of Alabama in 1987. She is a member of the university’s College of Communication and Information Sciences Hall of Fame. She has taught journalism at American University and frequently speaks about the Court to universities, law schools, legal organizations and civic groups across the country. She is a member of the New York Bar. She has four children and lives in Washington D.C.
Speech Topics
Supreme Conflict: Inside the Struggle for Control of the U.S. Supreme Court
As chief legal correspondent for CBS News and a New York Times bestselling author, Jan Crawford brings a rare dual perspective as both journalist and attorney to the story of the U.S. Supreme Court. Drawing from her book, Supreme Conflict, she traces the modern battle over the Court’s direction—from the ideological clashes of the Rehnquist era to today’s deeply polarized confirmation fights. With insights shaped by her coverage of presidential politics, including the 2012 election, and appearances on programs such as Face the Nation and CBS News Sunday Morning, Crawford reveals how elections, media scrutiny, and Senate strategy have reshaped the confirmation process. The talk explores how pivotal moments—from Bush v. Gore to recent transformative rulings—have elevated the Court to the center of America’s political life. Blending constitutional history, insider reporting, and legal analysis, Crawford offers audiences a compelling look at how the struggle for control of the Supreme Court continues to define the nation’s future.
Audiences will learn:
- How political strategy and elections reshape the judiciary’s constitutional interpretation.
- Valuable insight into the personalities, relationships, and internal dynamics that influence outcomes. The Court’s decisions are shaped not only by legal philosophy but also by persuasion, compromise, and the human dimension inside the marble walls.