Spartanburg magistrate receives Order of the Palmetto

A Spartanburg County magistrate judge who has served 45 years received the state’s highest honor May 7.

Judge James B. Paslay was presented with the Order of the Palmetto at the Spartanburg County Delegation meeting, Go Upstate reported.

The award was presented to Paslay by Sen. Glenn Reese, D-Inman, for his service to the state.

Paslay has served as a magistrate since 1973, but will retire in accordance with a state mandate at the age of 72 in June.

Paslay is a Spartanburg native who earned his bachelor’s degree from Wofford College in 1968 before entering the U.S. Army Reserve. He later retired as a captain.

He then received his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1971. Two years later, after working in private practice, he was appointed to serve as a judge of the civil and criminal court of Spartanburg. The court later became the City of Spartanburg Magistrate Court in 1979.