Thomas J. Charron, Court Administrator

Superior Court of Cobb County

Thomas (Tom) J. Charron received his law degree from Atlanta Law School in 1972 after completing his education at Georgia State University. He is admitted to the State Bar of Georgia as well as the District Court for the Northern United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and the Supreme Court of the United States. Mr. Charron is a member of numerous state and local bar associations.

Mr. Charron was elected district attorney for the Cobb Judicial Circuit in 1976 and held that position until March of 1998. During his tenure as district attorney, Tom Charron managed the third-largest prosecutor's office in the state while actively prosecuting many of the more notorious cases in the circuit. On numerous occasions he was asked to specifically prosecute sensitive criminal cases in other jurisdictions throughout the state. Some of his more high-profile prosecutions became the subject of books and television films. While district attorney,

Mr. Charron served on the Georgia Prosecuting Attorney's Council overseeing the state's prosecution services organization and directed the Basic Litigation Program for 11 years. He also served as the Georgia District Attorney's Association liaison to the Georgia General Assembly. As President of the National District Attorneys Association, Mr.Charron testified extensively before the Untied States Congress and several state legislatures on issues of importance to prosecutors and the criminal justice system. Mr. Charron was successfully re-elected to the office of district attorney for six terms before retiring.

Mr. Charron was appointed Director of Education for the National District Attorneys Association at the National Advocacy Center in March of 1998 after serving as district attorney in Marietta, Georgia, (Cobb Judicial Circuit) for 21 years. He was an active member of NDAA for two decades. He has served on NDAA's Board of Director's, chaired numerous committees, served on several executive committees, was elected president during 1991-92, and served as board chairman for both NDAA and APRI during 1992-93. In 1992,

Mr. Charron became chairman of the National College of District Attorneys Board of Regents and served in that capacity until his appointment as director of education at the National Advocacy Center. He has served as NDAA's representative to the American Bar Association, having sat in the House of Delegates and on the Council of the Criminal Justice Section.

In 2004, Mr. Charron was named executive director of NDAA and served in that capacity until 2008 when he returned home to Cobb County. In March, Mr. Charron was asked to assume the position of interim superior court administrator for the Cobb Judicial Circuit. On August 12, 2008, he was appointed permanent court administrator for Cobb Superior Court.

An experienced speaker and instructor, Mr. Charron has lectured extensively on criminal justi ce and trial advocacy issues for over 20 years throughout the country, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom. He has instructed for the National Institute of Trial Advocacy at Emory University as well as Harvard, Hofstra, Widener, Mercer and the University of Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Association. He also developed and ran the Basic Litigation course at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center for 11 years.

Tom Charron is married and has four children.