CANTON — Cherokee County Chief Magistrate James E. Drane III and his staff of associate judges were sworn into office for the four-year 2013 term by Chief Probate Judge Keith Wood last Friday.

Drane’s new team of magistrates consists of seven trial lawyers with a combined total of 121 years of legal experience and at least 20 years of judicial experience.

The team has judicial experience in the magistrate, juvenile, state and superior and administrative law courts, and represents a diverse legal education background from seven law schools in four states and two regions of the country.

They bring non-law experience to the bench, including real estate management, construction project management, accounting and auditing, law enforcement, college teaching, research economics, securities brokerage, tax consulting, mortgage lending, and scuba instruction.

Drane said he is confident that his new team will enable him to fulfill his promises to Cherokee County taxpayers.

He said he will be a faithful steward of taxpayer funds; tough on crime while protecting the rights of those accused; apply the collective wisdom of his team of judges to decide civil cases fairly and promptly; and assist the other Cherokee County courts with their burdensome case loads.