John Herbert “Herb” Cranford Jr. is the District Attorney for the Coweta Judicial Circuit, comprised of Carroll, Coweta, Heard, Meriwether and Troup Counties. Herb was born and raised in Coweta County and is a third-generation prosecutor—his father and grandfather both having previously served as Solicitor General of Coweta County. After graduating from Newnan High School, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from the University of Georgia in 2008 and a Juris Doctor from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law in 2012. During law school, Herb worked as a judicial clerk for the Hon. W. Homer Drake, Jr. of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia and then as an intern for the Coweta Circuit DA’s Office.

Upon graduating law school in 2012, Herb was hired as an Assistant District Attorney in the same office, working in Carroll County and Coweta County. In February 2018, Governor Nathan Deal appointed him as District Attorney to fill the remainder of his predecessor’s term. He has been elected twice in 2018 and 2020. During his career he has successfully prosecuted a variety of crimes, including rape, child molestation, and murder. He has received particular recognition for his focus on prosecuting criminal street gangs, including obtaining the first guilty verdict in a gang trial in the Coweta Judicial Circuit.

By appointment of the Supreme Court of Georgia, Herb has served on the State Bar’s Disciplinary Board since 2021. By election of his fellow Georgia District Attorneys, he currently serves as the Treasurer for the District Attorneys’ Association of Georgia and the Georgia representative to the National District Attorneys Association.