County's chief magistrate sworn in

Evans attorney Bobby Christine took the oath of office Thursday as Columbia County's chief magistrate.

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"Thank you to the Superior Court judges," Christine said at the ceremony in a courtroom of the Columbia County Justice Center in Evans. "You have given me something today."

Christine succeeds J. Wade Padgett, who was sworn in Tuesday as the Augusta Judicial Circuit's newest Superior Court judge.

A former assistant magistrate, Christine was appointed chief magistrate by the eight Superior Court judges in the Augusta Judicial Circuit, including Padgett.

"Bobby Christine has meant a lot to the judiciary in this county and this circuit," Superior Court Chief Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet said before administering the oath.

Christine is a former assistant district attorney, a Georgia National Guard JAG officer who served two tours of duty in Iraq, and a private attorney.

The courtroom was filled with judges, lawyers, county officials, family and friends to witness Christine take his oath.

"You've got your God, your family and your friends," Christine said as he thanked all in attendance for supporting him. "You've got nothing else."

Christine is the county's fourth chief magistrate since the position was created in 1983. He follows Larry Maioriello, David Huguenin and Padgett.

"They just keep getting better and better," Maioriello said of his successors. "I think they couldn't have gotten a better person for (the position). I'm thrilled."