Lake Charles attorney Cade R. Cole has become the 119th associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court. A packed Courtroom A at the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse last week witnessed the investiture ceremony when Justice Cole took the oath of office.

Cole became the second attorney from Calcasieu Parish to become an associate justice of the court. The late-Associate Justice Jack C. Watson was the first who served on the court from 1979 to 1996. Both were elected to the court without opposition.

Chief Justice John L. Weimer gave the opening address at the ceremony. Federal Judge James D. Cain Jr. of the Western District was master of ceremonies.

Also at the ceremony were Supreme Court associate justices Jefferson D. Hughes, William J. Crain, Jay B. McCallum, Piper D. Griffin and John Michael Guidry.

Cole is replacing former Associate Justice James T. Genovese of Opelousas who has become president of Northwestern State University at Natchitoches.

Louisiana Republican Gov. Jeff Landry and GOP state Attorney General Liz Murrill both supported Cole’s election and spoke at the ceremony.

Cole is a native of DeQuincy. After law school at Tulane, Cole served as law clerk for former Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice Jeannette T. Knoll. Knoll gave Cole the oath of office.

Prior to his Supreme Court election, Cole served as Louisiana’s first local and state tax judge. Cole was trained as a mediator and as special master he worked to expedite the handling of over 10,000 Hurricane Laura lawsuits.

Cole previously served as an assistant district attorney, city attorney for Sulphur and Vinton and as city magistrate for DeQuincy. He was chair of the U.S. Magistrate Judge selection committee for the U.S. District Court for Western Louisiana.

The associate justice has won numerous awards. Cole is married to the former Rebekah Cole, a former chemical engineer. They have four children who participated in the investiture ceremony.

The parishes in Cole’s 3rd Supreme Court District are Allen, Beauregard,  Caddo, Calcasieu, Cameron, DeSoto, Evangeline, Jeff Davis, Natchitoches, Sabine, St. Landry and Vernon.