Washington, DC (Aug. 4, 2023) – Benjamin L. Crump was awarded the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Champion of Justice Civic & Humanitarian Award during the Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago on August 4. Champion of Justice Awards are bestowed upon those individuals who – through legislative, journalistic, philanthropic, or humanitarian pursuits – have staunchly preserved or defended the constitutional rights of American citizens and have endeavored to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime.
A renowned civil rights lawyer, Crump is best known for taking on cases of police misconduct and excessive force, often representing the families of Black Americans killed at the hands of police officers. High profile cases include those of Trayvon Martin, Ahmaud Arbery, Martin Lee Anderson, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown and many more. Crump’s work not only seeks accountability for those harmed by police misconduct, but also sheds light on police brutality and the scope of racial discrimination in policing and all facets of the American criminal legal system. He is an advocate for legislation preventing excessive force and has worked to develop implicit bias policies.
Crump is the founder of Ben Crump Law, where he represents clients in matters of civil rights, wrongful death, motor vehicle accidents, class action, and more, with a focus on serving marginalized communities. Crump has been named in TIME100’s 2021 Most Influential People, Ebony Magazine’s Power 100 Most Influential African Americans, The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Lawyers, and the 2014 NNPA Newsmaker of the Year. He has received numerous awards including the NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award, the SCLC Martin Luther King Servant Leader Award, the American Association for Justice Johnnie Cochran Award, and the Alpha Kappa Alpha Eleanor Roosevelt Medallion for Service. He is the President of the National Civil Rights Trial Lawyers Association, a past President of the National Bar Association, and the founder and director of the Benjamin Crump Social Justice Institute at the law school of St. Thomas University in Miami, which in 2023 became the Benjamin L. Crump College of Law. He is the author of Open Season: Legalized Genocide of Colored People, published in 2019. He received his B.A. and J.D. from Florida State University.
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Contacts
Jessie Diamond, Public Affairs and Communications Associate, (202) 465-7647 or jdiamond@nacdl.org
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.
