OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY)– Last November St. Landry Parish District Attorney Earl Taylor announced his retirement after 23 year in office and named 1st District Attorney Charles Cravins as his successor.

Cravins will assume Taylor’s role beginning February 1, 2020.

The swearing-in ceremony of Cravins will take place that day at the Delta Grand Theater at 1:30 pm in downtown Opelousas.

Cravins will receive the oath of office from Louisiana Supreme Court Justice, James P. Genovese.

A reception will follow on the grounds of the St. Landry Parish Courthouse. The ceremony and reception are open to the public.

Cravins has been on Taylor’s staff since his first year of office. “Charles has helped me put together an office that will rival any DA’s office in Louisiana. He is intelligent, knows what is involved in running the office and he cares for people,” said Taylor.

According to the St. Landry Chamber of Commerce, Cravins has an extensive resume of public service in the state.

In the early 1990’s he was Regional Director and Governmental Affairs Coordinator for the 4th Congressional District. In 1997 Charles was appointed to and presently serves as Chief Administrative Officer of the St. Landry Parish District Attorney’s office. While working full time in that position, Charles attended Southern University Law Center, where he was selected to the prestigious Southern University Law Review, an honor reserved to the school’s top students and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Since 2007 Charles has served as Assistant District Attorney and then, First Assistant District Attorney of the 27th Judicial District, St. Landry Parish. He has served as counsel to numerous St. Landry Parish criminal grand juries over the last 12 years.

Charles has served as adjunct professor at Southern University Law Center, teaching Administration of Criminal Law, is President of Cravins Trosclair, A Professional Law Corporation, which focuses on complex litigation, and was recently selected to serve as the Louisiana District Attorney Association representative on the Advisory Board of the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.

He has been the lead trial attorney in scores of matters, including civil and criminal cases, before various courts, in Federal Court, Louisiana State District Courts and City Courts. He has argued before the Louisiana Court of Appeal for the Third Circuit, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Charles is an Army veteran, the son of the late Armas and Edmonia Cravins, and husband of Mona Gobert Cravins. He is the father of four and a grandfather of four.