Fayette Chief Magistrate Floyd dies

Fayette County’s Chief Magistrate, Charles “Chuck” Floyd Jr., died overnight, court officials have said.

When Floyd, 53, was appointed to the position in 2002, he became Fayette’s first-ever African American judge. He subsequently was elected to the post in 2004 and won re-election in 2008.

Fellow Magistrate Bob Ruppenthal in a statement today said that Floyd “served the citizens of Fayette County with integrity.”

“Chuck will be greatly missed,” Ruppenthal said.

Details of Floyd’s death are unavailable and funeral arrangements are expected to be released later by the family.

Floyd graduated law school at Suffolk University in Boston and has been practicing in Georgia since 1981. In a 2002 profile upon his appointment as chief magistrate, Floyd said he was “flattered and honored” to be considered for the job.

Among the duties of Fayette magistrates are the ability to set bond, or hold a defendant without bond, for nearly all criminal offenses. Magistrates also review citizen applications for arrest warrants along with holding “small claims” court and officiating over dispossessory (eviction) cases.