CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Judge Richard Fields, the first African American to open a law firm in Charleston since Reconstruction, has died at age 103.

Judge Fields was born and raised in Charleston, SC.

He attended high school at the Avery Institute, graduated from West Virginia State College in 1944, and earned his law degree in 1947 from the Howard University School of Law, according to a bio from The South Carolina Department of Education.

He opened his law firm in 1949, and later became the first Black municipal court judge in Charleston in 1969; he was elected a circuit court judge in 1980.

Judge Fields retired in 1992.

The Charleston Municipal courtroom was named in his honor in August 2022. A portion of Spring Street was also dedicated in his honor by resolution on his 100th birthday in October 2020.

Fields is survived by 2 children, Mary Diane Fields-Reed and Richard E. Fields Jr.

“Judge Fields was a trailblazer, as the first African-American judge. He paved the doors [SIC] of Justice to be opened for African-American jurist [SIC] both male and female. He was neutral and detached and served admirably in the Charleston community. He first started as a municipal court, judge, then Family Court, and completed his tenure as a circuit court judge. He was beloved by the entire community and will be sorely missed, said Judge Tamara  C. Curry, Charleston County Probate Court.