Charles Crookham

Crookham's son, Berkeley Fitzcharles Crookham was convicted in 1995 at age 36 "on a felony charge in the beating of his [6-week-old] infant daughter" and booked into jail on June 28, 1995, in Multnomah County, Oregon in a case covered extensively in the Oregon press.

In January, 1992, Crookham became Oregon Attorney General, appointed by the Governor, Barbara Roberts to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of David B. Frohnmayer who left to become University of Oregon's law school dean. Within the month, he announced that he would not seek election to retain the post beyond the unexpired term of his appointment.

Crookham's early career was as a trial attorney, earning a reputation as a premier appellate lawyer. He was first appointed to the bench by Oregon Governor Mark O. Hatfield in 1962, serving as a judge from 1963 to 1988, and as presiding judge between 1978 and 1985.

Charles Sewell Crookham (March 17, 1923 – October 7, 2004), a native and lifelong resident of the U.S. state of Oregon, was a lawyer, a Republican politician, jurist, and military historian. He was briefly Oregon Attorney General, appointed to serve out David Frohnmayer's uncompleted term, but most of his professional career was spent in the private practice of law and as a judge.

Crookham was born on St. Patrick's Day in 1923 in Portland, Oregon. He was the son of Kenneth Crookham, who worked for an automobile dealership at the time, and who later went into the business himself. He grew up in the family home on Northeast 38th Street, attending neighborhood schools. He had already decided on a career in law at the age of eight, at the urging of an uncle.