He was an Assistant United States Attorney of the Northern District of Illinois from 1961 to 1965, and was thereafter in private practice in Chicago from 1965 to 1976.
[1] On May 18, 1976, Crowley was nominated by President Gerald Ford to a seat on the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois vacated by Judge Richard B. Austin.
Crowley was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 16, 1976, and received his commission the same day.
[1] After retiring from the federal bench, Crowley returned to the private practice of law.
He was diagnosed with cancer in October 1987 and died on January 10, 1989, in Evanston, Illinois, remaining active in the practice of law until a few months before his death.