A Newberry County magistrate is suspended for 45 days for brawling with another man at the Newberry Cotillion Club.
Magistrate Gordon Blackwell Johnson reportedly head-butted, punched and eye-gouged an unidentified person during a meeting at the club. Bystanders had to pull Johnson off of the victim.
The South Carolina Supreme Court unanimously decided to suspend the judge. Magistrates handle small crime and civil dispute cases and the Supreme Court says they are held to the same standard as any other judge.
It is still unclear what caused the fight.