Newton County welcomed Raymond Boutwell to the Justice Court bench Friday at a special called meeting of the Board of Supervisors. Boutwell, who has over 30 years of experience as an attorney, will serve out the rest of Judge Mark McDonald’s term, which ends Dec. 31.
“I personally want to thank Raymond for being willing to tackle this job for the next 11 and a half months,” said Board President Charles Godwin.
Godwin said he and Boutwell grew up near each other and have been good friends for many years.
“He was educated at Newton High School,” Godwin said. “He graduated in ’68 and went to East Central.”
“I was paroled from there in ’71,” Boutwell added, laughing.
After law school, Boutwell set up his law practice in Brookhaven, where he worked as an attorney, prosecutor and judge over a 35-year career.”
“I was city prosecutor for 10 years and city judge for six years,” he said.
About six years ago, Boutwell retired, returning to live in Newton County with his wife. Although he enjoyed retirement, he said he was honored by the opportunity to serve the county as Justice Court Judge.
With his years of experience, Godwin said the board felt Boutwell was well qualified to fill the position and would be a great asset to the county in the coming year.
