County Honors Judge Mattison for 4 Decades of Service on the Bench

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

The Honorable Sherry E. Mattison, a longtime Anderson County magistrate whose career on the bench and in county service spans more than four decades, including over 30 years presiding in Belton Summary Court and related assignments in the county’s magistrate system, was honored Tuesday by Anderson County Council for her service to the community.

Mattison was recognized for many years of distinguished service to the citizens of Anderson County, where she handled thousands of criminals, civil and traffic matters while helping shape a more accessible, community‑focused summary court.

Mattison served as a magistrate judge in the Anderson County Summary Court, part of South Carolina’s statewide magistrate system, which hears lower‑level criminal, civil and traffic cases and conducts preliminary hearings. Magistrates such as Mattison also issue arrest and search warrants, set bonds, and preside over jury and non‑jury trials in cases generally involving fines up to $500 and sentences up to 30 days in jail, as well as certain matters with higher statutory limits.

Over her tenure, Mattison has presided over thousands of cases for Anderson County residents, including criminal, civil and traffic proceedings arising in and around Belton and other areas assigned to her court. Colleagues and county officials credit that long service with providing continuity and experience in the local justice system, ensuring that citizens appearing in magistrate court encounter a judge deeply familiar with both the law and the community.

As part of the Anderson County Summary Court, Mattison’s work has helped keep judicial services close to the communities they serve, reflecting the county’s practice of placing magistrate offices in multiple population centers for citizen convenience . In doing so, she has played a key role in resolving everyday disputes, traffic offenses, and misdemeanor criminal matters quickly and locally, reducing burdens on higher courts and making justice more accessible to residents.

County Council is recognized Mattison as she steps down from the bench, honoring more than 40 years of county service and her decades as a magistrate judge with a resolution that noted that her career has left a lasting mark on Anderson County’s judicial system and its citizens, whose lives and communities have been directly affected by her decisions, fairness and steady presence in the courtroom.