JACKSON – Northampton County Senior Magistrate Martha Buffaloe has been honored for her three decades as a public servant.

Recently, Buffaloe was honored by District 6B Chief Judge Alfred W. Kwasikpui in open court. Kwasikpui presented Buffaloe with a clock, a service award for her work with the state as a magistrate.

“She has served 30 years as a magistrate,” said Kwasikpui. “She has well served you, the people in this county and in the state.”

In a later interview, Buffaloe sat down to speak about her three decades as a magistrate.

Buffaloe began her work in July of 1977 when she was appointed by then Judge Perry Martin. She said sometime in the early 1990s she was appointed the title of senior magistrate by Chief Judge Kwasikpui.

“I think it was a really a great honor,” said Buffaloe about the award. “I’m very happy to serve 30 years with the state of North Carolina.”

Issuing warrants and setting bails like any other magistrate is part of Buffaloe’s job. However, her role differs slightly as a senior magistrate as she has holds seniority and is responsible for training new magistrates that come on board.

Magistrates attend training every two years in order to receive required credited hours.

She also serves on the Roanoke Chowan Domestic Violence Task Force and the Coordinate Community Response Team (CCRT).

Buffaloe deals with everyday stresses of the job by keeping a level head.

“(I deal with it) by being very professional, by treating everyone fairly and applying the laws as is,” she said.

While most people associate the judicial system with pessimism, Buffaloe disagrees.

“I have seen some good positive things,” she said. “There are some good outcomes.”

For Buffaloe, her overall experience as a magistrate has been a positive one.

“It’s been a great experience and I’ve learned a lot about the law,” she said.