CHARLESTON — A controversial county magistrate has been arrested and suspended from the bench, according to his lawyer and an order from the state Supreme Court.

Charleston County Magistrate James B. Gosnell Jr. was arrested by federal law enforcement early on the morning of Sept. 16, Lionel Lofton, his attorney, told The Post and Courier.

Details of his arrest and a search of his home were not immediately available. A federal criminal complaint is pending release from the South Carolina U.S. Attorney’s Office, Lofton said.

Gosnell, who is not an attorney, presided over bond and preliminary hearings in Charleston for more than two decades. He will appear for his own bond hearing at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 17 at the U.S. District Court in Charleston, Lofton said.

Hours after his his arrest, S

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