{{Infobox officeholder
|name=Michael Owens Craig
|image=Michael Craig of LA.jpg
|office=Division A [[Judge]] of the Louisiana 26th Judicial District Court for<br> Bossier and Webster parishes
|term_start=January 1, 2009
Louisiana State University ([[Shreveport]])<br>
Southern University<br> Law Center ([[Baton Rouge]])
|religion=[[Christian]]|spouse=Name of spouse missing<br>|children=Hannah Craig'''Parents''':<br>Norman Dale and Suzanne Owens Craig}}
'''Michael Owens Craig''', known as '''Mike Craig''' (born November 5, 1968), is the Division A [[judge]] of the 26th Judicial District Court of Bossier and Webster parishes in northwestern [[Louisiana]]. Craig is nearing the end of his third term in the judgeship. He resides in Benton; the district also encompasses [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] in Webster Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=
==Career==
===Judicial elections===
In the 2008 election, Craig waged an unexpected challenge to the twenty-year [[incumbent]] [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] judge, [[Dewey Burchett|Dewey E. Burchett, Jr.]], of Benton and narrowly defeated him, 12,182 votes (51 percent) to 11,683 (49 percent). Craig hence prevailed by fewer than four hundred votes.<ref>Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 4, 2008.</ref> Incumbent judges are rarely challenged in northwestern Louisiana, particularly in a controversial campaign like this one. Craig called Burchett a "[[liberal]]" and cited cases in which he claimed the judge had rendered too lenient sentences. Burchett questioned a tax lien filed against Craig by the [[Internal Revenue Service]] and issues relating to Craig's [[divorce]]. He was sworn into office by then Minden City Judge Cecil Campbell, II, with ceremonies in the Bossier Parish Courthouse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ktbs.com/story/22340248/craig-defeats-incumbent-bossier-webster-judge|title=Craig defeats incumbent Bossier-Webster judge|publisher=KTBS-TV ([[ABC]] in [[Shreveport]])|date=October 5, 2008|accessdate=May 29, 2020}}</ref>
After the campaign against Burchett, the Louisiana Board of Ethics censured]] Craig for violation of the campaign finance reporting law. The board found that Craig "unknowingly" reported a $34,000 loan far beyond the $2,500 limit from his father, Norman Dale Craig (born August 1939) of Bossier City. The board said that Craig admitted the violation and "acted immediately" to remedy the situation. He was not fined but reprimanded through publication of the board opinion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ktbs.com/story/22348255/state-ethics-board-censures-bossier-judge|title=State Ethics Board Censures Bossier Judge|publisher=KTBS-TV|accessdate=May 29, 2020}}</ref>