JOSH QUEEN ...Cherokee County Probate Judge A local judge found himself on the opposite side of the law early Friday morning, spending about three hours in custody after he was arrested for driving under the influence.

Cherokee County Probate Judge Josh Queen, 30, of West Rutledge Avenue, who also presides over the Cherokee County Drug Court, was stopped by a trooper from the South Carolina Highway Patrol (SCHP) on West Rutledge Avenue early Friday morning for a traffic violation, according to Cpl. Bryan McDougald.

“After stopping the vehicle for a violation, the driver was arrested for driving under the influence and was transported to the Cherokee County Detention Center,” McDougald said.

McDougald, a spokesman for SCHP who had no role in the arrest, said he could not provide more details due to the pending litigation.

Neither the nature of the traffic violation that led to the stop, nor the results of any field sobriety tests, were released by SCHP.

Cherokee County Detention Center records show Queen was booked into the jail at 2:03 a.m. and released on a personal recognizance bond of $992 at 5:14 a.m.

According to the Cherokee County Magistrates Office, Chief Magistrate Bart Howell set the bond for Queen. The jail log shows one other inmate was released from the jail on an unrelated matter at about the same time as Queen.

When reached at his office late Friday morning, Queen initially said he would release a statement after having a chance to speak with his lawyer. On Friday afternoon, though, Queen wrote in an e-mail that he would not be making any comments on the advice of his counsel.

According to the South Carolina Judicial Department, Queen was appointed Probate Judge by Gov. Mark Sanford in 2004 to fill the unexpired term of Judge W.R. Douglas. Queen subsequently won election to the position, which carries a four-year term.

Queen is a 1996 graduate of Gaffney High School, a 2000 graduate of Clemson University and a 2003 graduate of the South Carolina School of Law. He was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in May 2004, according to an online biography at the South Carolina Department of Justice web site.

As a Probate Court judge, Queen has jurisdiction over marriage licenses, estates, minor settlements under $25,000, guardianships of minors and incompetents, involuntary commitments to mental institutions and trusts.

In addition to his Probate Court duties, Queen has been presiding over Drug Court in Spartanburg and Cherokee counties. Drug court handles nonviolent offenders charged with crimes that stem from a drug or alcohol addiction by focusing on treatment and intensive probation.

Supporters claim Drug Court is not only more effective than incarceration, since its goal is to break the cycle of addiction that leads to crime, but is also much less costly that locking someone away.

An official comment on Queen’s status in Drug Court was not immediately available.