Judge Marva L. Crenshaw

Judge Marva L. Crenshaw was born in DeFuniak Springs, Florida in 1951. After graduating from Walton High School in 1969, she attended Tuskegee Institute and attained her Bachelor of Science degree, with honors, in 1973. She received a Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida in December 1975.

In June 2008, Judge Crenshaw embarked upon her thirty-second year as a member of The Florida Bar, which includes a distinguished list of accomplishments. Her career began as a prosecutor with the State Attorney's Office under Richard Gerstein in Miami-Dade County, Florida, serving in that capacity until her relocation to the Tampa Bay area in 1978, where she joined the staff of Bay Area Legal Services. She was Deputy Director of Bay Area Legal Services at the time of her appointment by Governor Bob Martinez to the Hillsborough County Court in 1989. In 2000 Governor Jeb Bush appointed her as a circuit judge, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit. During Judge Crenshaw's tenure as a trial judge, she served in the civil, family, criminal and juvenile divisions. She has been extensively involved in bar activities including: The Florida Bar Appellate Rules Committee;Bruce Jacob Criminal Appellate Inns of Court; Vice Chair, Florida Bar Civil Rules Committee; member, Education Committee, Florida Conference of Circuit Judges; member, Community Service, Law Week, Bulletin, Mock Trial and Barristers Ball committees, and Chair, County Civil Rules Committee, Hillsborough County Bar Association; Board of Directors, Investment Committee and member, LAP Grant Committee, The Florida Bar Foundation; member, Jury Management Committee, Thirteenth Judicial Circuit; President, President-elect and Master of the Bench, William Glenn Terrell Inns of Court; member, Ferguson White Inns of Court, George Edgecomb Bar Association, and National Institute for Trial Advocates; and Board of Directors, Hillsborough Association Women Lawyers.

Judge Crenshaw's community involvement has included: Habitat for Humanity; Paint Your Heart Out; mentor, Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers; mentor to numerous law students and young lawyers; lecturer at schools throughout Hillsborough County; board member and tutor, Literacy Volunteers of America; and, Board of Directors, Vice President and President, Hillsborough County Suicide and Crisis Center. Her civic involvement has also included: Board of Trustees, Academy of Holy Names, and member, Tampa Bay Chapter Tuskegee Alumni Association, and Tampa Metropolitan Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Incorporated.

She has received several honors and awards including the 2007 Achievement Award, Hillsborough Association of Women Lawyers; Who's Who of American Women; 1997 Achievement Award, Tampa Police Department; Sojourner Truth Award, 1991 National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women; Up & Comers Award, Tampa Bay Business Journal & Price Waterhouse; and Achievement Award, George Edgecomb Bar Association.

Judge Crenshaw is married and has two daughters. In her spare time she enjoys biking, jogging and gardening. Governor Charlie Crist appointed Judge Crenshaw to the Second District Court of Appeal in January 2009, and she began serving on February 1, 2009.