1913, he was appointed by Governor William Sulzer a justice of the New York Supreme Court (5th District) to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Peter B. McLennan.
In 1928, he ran on the Democratic ticket for the New York Court of Appeals, but was defeated by Republican Irving G. Hubbs.
Pound was elected Chief Judge in November 1932, and Crouch was re-appointed by Governor Herbert H. Lehman to the seat on January 1, 1933.
In November 1933, Crouch was elected on the Democratic, Republican, Law Preservation and City Fusion tickets to succeed himself, and remained on the bench until the end of 1936 when he reached the constitutional age limit of 70 years.
In January 1933, his daughter Margaret (Crouch) Nottingham (born 1896) committed suicide by shooting herself.