From left, former District Attorney Bernie Boudreaux, District Attorney Bo Duhé and former District Attorney Phil Haney share a light moment after the ceremony.

The Catholic High School graduate who wanted to be a banker took his public oath of office as the new 16th Judicial District Attorney Monday at the Iberia Parish Courthouse.

Bofill Duhé, known by more people as “Bo,” succeeded longtime District Attorney Phil Haney after he was unopposed last year in his bid for the job. Several hundred crowded the second floor of the Iberia Parish Courthouse to witness the swearing-in, including Attorney General Buddy Caldwell, state Sen. Fred Mills, R-Parks, and U.S. District Judge Richard Haik.

“It was in this very courtroom I picked my first jury,” Duhé told the crowd Monday. “With my knees rocking and my brow sweating.”

As a formality, Duhé also swore in his 26 assistant district attorneys and picked Robert Vines to serve as first assistant district attorney, the post Duhé held for the past six years.

“It’s a very, very rewarding job,” Duhé said in a separate interview Friday, reflecting on his 21-year career in his new and modestly furnished office overlooking St. Peter’s Cemetery. “It’s a fantastic position where you feel like you’re contributing and doing something good for your community.”

Duhé said he grew up between New Iberia and Jeanerette, graduating from Catholic High in 1980. He started studying business at LSU, but eventually relocated to then-The University of Southwestern Louisiana (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) to earn his business degree in 1984.

He worked as a banker through 1989, mostly managing “special assets,” which he said was a polite term for “toxic” assets.

“I eventually realized I would probably have to move to Atlanta or New Orleans to continue my banking career,” Duhé said. “I didn’t want to move to a big city.”

With thoughts of becoming a banking lawyer, Duhé, whose father was a federal judge, earned his juris doctorate from Tulane University Law School in 1992. He was clerking for former 16th Judicial District Judge Robert Fleming when then-District Attorney Bernie Boudreaux offered Duhé a job as an assistant.

Duhé took the job, admitting frankly that it paid better, and worked under the supervision of then-Assistant District Attorney Bud Lee.

“That’s how I fortuitously fell into this position,” he said.

Duhé’s career made him witness to the plethora of programs used by the district attorney’s office, including the juvenile and adult drug court programs, DUI courts and prosecutor’s early intervention program. He said he fully planned on continuing those programs for their effectiveness in curbing recurring crime and rehabilitating criminals.

That said, he emphasized he would not hesitate to prosecute a criminal as extensively as he or she warranted.

“You can’t be successful in all cases, but they’ve shown and proven to be effective programs,” he said. “I’ve seen some terrible, violent crimes. On the other hand, you see a lot of situations where young offenders didn’t have the opportunities that you or I had.”

Duhé recalled “cocaine” as the answer to his question as a young assistant district attorney as to why crime surged in the 1980s and ’90s. Nowadays, he’s prosecuting more cases that involve prescription drugs or synthetic cannabinoids.

Another trend he foresees, with the aging Baby Boomers, is crimes against the elderly, which he anticipates to grab nationwide attention and awareness much like domestic violence did when he became a lawyer.

Prior experience and knowledge has Duhé ready to adapt, he said.

“They’re always looking for a better mousetrap,” he said. “That’s an important part of this job, to find a way to do this better. You’ve just got to look for different ways to work it out.”

One thorny issue Duhé inherits is a Louisiana State Police investigation into the death of Victor White III, whose death while handcuffed in an Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office car from an unclearly sourced gunshot has sparked regional outrage and drawn national media attention. This preceded numerous 2014 incidents of unarmed black men being killed by police officers, which often resulted in protests and riots when prosecutors or grand juries declined to indict the officers.

Duhé said, like Haney, he will withhold making a move on the investigation until the U.S. Justice Department wraps up its own. He admitted the criminal justice system, like any other profession, has “bad ones” working among its “tremendous people.”

“There’s very few easy deicisons in this job,” he said. “Your decisions affect people on both sides. Some are popular, others unpopular, but as long as I’m making the right decisions, I’m doing my job.”

Duhé said that advice came from Boudreaux days into his assistant district attorney’s job 21 years ago. Boudreaux was at the courthouse Monday to witness his former protégé.

“He understood when to and when not to bring down the powers of the office,” Boudreaux said on Duhé. “That was the first thing I noticed when hiring him.”

The 16th Judicial District Court comprises Iberia, St. Martin and St. Mary parishes. Duhé’s six-year term runs through 2020.