Usha Bridges, with right hand in the air, is sworn into office Thursday afternoon as Cherokee County's new Family Court judge by South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Donald R. Beatty. Bridges replaces Judge Wesley L. Brown, who retired. (Ledger photo / TIM GULLA) Retired Family Court Judge Wesley Brown had no doubts about the quality of his successor.

For more than a decade, attorney Usha Bridges has spent countless hours before him in Family Court and Brown said he saw her perform, and perform well, in practically every role possible. He lauded her knowledge of the law, her commitment, persuasiveness and determination, as well as her ability to bring harmony to places and situations where harmony is often severely lacking and needed.

“She has integrity,” Brown said. “Certainly, I think you’ll be in good hands in that respect.”

Brown’s gavel was officially passed to Bridges on Thursday during an investiture ceremony that brought judges from across the region, including the state Supreme Court, to Gaffney. Chief Justice Jean Toal presided as Bridges, surrounded by family, friends and colleagues, was sworn into office as Cherokee County’s new Family Court judge.

Normally reserved for jurors, the jury box in the Cherokee County Courthouse was filled with jurists on Thursday afternoon as friends and now colleagues of Usha Bridges assembled for her investiture as Cherokee County's new Family Court judge. Among those seated in the jury box are judges from the state Supreme Court, Circuit Court and Family Court. Not only is the position a perfect fit for Bridges, friends and colleagues said, but also one that Bridges has long aspired to attain.

“When someone says hard work does pay off, Usha Bridges is an example,” said attorney Joseph Mathis, president of the Cherokee County Bar Association.

Mathis said a typical Family Court judge averages more than 1,500 cases a year. “That’s a difficult job dealing with the lives of people each day,” he said.

But Judge Bridges, he said, “has the passion this job requires.”

Bridges was sworn into office by state Supreme Court Justice Donald Beatty while her children and grandchildren held the Bible for her.

“I will try my best to follow in Judge Brown’s footsteps,” she said. “I promise to uphold the integrity of the position.”

Born in Gaffney, Bridges is a graduate of Gaffney High School and the University of South Carolina. She received her Juris Doctorate in 1992 from the University of South Carolina School of Law.

She began practicing law in April 1993 in Greenville and started practicing law in Cherokee County as a public defender for cases involving juveniles.

She went into private practice in 1996 but maintained a contract with Cherokee County to represent juvenile offenders in Family Court.

In 1999, she took on an additional responsibility as a municipal court judge for the City of Gaffney. She also has been working with the South Carolina Governor’s Office since 1993 to provide legal services in abuse and neglect cases.