Johanna Crisman '25 honored by National Institute of Military Justice for paper on protecting children from exploitation
The West Point graduate and active duty U.S. Army Captain will join the Army JAG Corps after graduation from Duke Law School
Johanna Crisman '25
Johanna Crisman ’25 has won Honorable Mention for her submission in the Rear Admiral John S. Jenkins Writing Award for Law Students, given by the National Institute of Military Justice. Crisman said she selected the topic, “Protecting Innocence: The Case for a New UCMJ Article on Child Pornography,” after conducting research into violations of state law under UCMJ Article 134 during her first summer working with the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG Corps) at Joint-Base Lewis McChord.
“I was in the prosecution office, and we dealt regularly with Article 134 violations to the UCMJ, which gave me a lot of exposure to the way Article 134 works,” Crisman says. “I'm interning in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina this semester with the Special Prosecutions Unit. More than anything, protecting children from exploitation is a matter of great importance to me.”
The final paper will be published as part of the LENS Essay series. Read her competition draft.
A West Point graduate who has served as a U.S. Army Field Artillery Officer, Crisman came to Duke Law through the Army's Funded Legal Education Program, which sends active duty officers and enlisted service members to law school to transition into the JAG Corps. She is currently an active duty Army Captain.
At Duke Law she is also managing editor of Alaska Law Review and a member of the Mock Trial Board and National Security Law Society. While in law school, Crisman has run four Ironman 70.3 Triathlons – one on the weekend before 1L memos were due. “Staying active is one of the main ways I manage my stress and has been especially important in light of the subject matter this paper and my current internship deals with,” Crisman says.
In their 1L year, Crisman and fellow West Point grad and Army combat veteran Chandler Cole ’25 launched a podcast called Combat Exclusion, which explores issues surrounding military sex-integration. They have also co-authored guest commentaries published in The Hill (on diversity in the military) and Newsweek (on women in combat roles).
After graduating, Crisman will serve as an Army Judge Advocate and is hoping to be assigned to Joint-Base Lewis McChord in Washington State. She notes that she and her husband are expecting the arrival of their first child – a son – in February 2025.
“My husband and I are very excited about this next chapter and thankful for the support we've received from the faculty and staff at Duke Law,” she says.