The Hon. Jannita C. Gaston is a magistrate for the Fairfield County Magistrate Court in South Carolina. She was appointed to the bench by Governor Henry McMaster in 2019.
The magistrate court presides over landlord/tenant hearings, summons and complaint cases (to claim disputed funds), claim and delivery cases (to reclaim property), and public sales of abandoned vehicles. Its magistrates also hear criminal and traffic cases, issue warrants and set bonds, and hold preliminary hearings and transfer cases for the county.
Gaston earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Benedict College.
After graduating from college, Gaston spent the next forty years working in corrections and law enforcement, holding assignments as a correctional officer, a deputy warden of administration, a warden, and a regional director.
Her memberships have included the Fairfield Behavioral Health Service Board.
Gaston was a resident of Winnsboro, South Carolina, at the time of her appointment.