Judge Debra Matthews was admitted to practice law in 2001 and opened a private practice in Winnsboro. As a general practitioner, she concentrated in civil and criminal litigation with a heavy emphasis on family law. Judge Matthews served as a guardian ad litem and contract attorney with the South Carolina Commission on Indigent Defense for vulnerable adults, abuse and neglect cases. Her practice also entailed consumer bankruptcy filings in the United States Bankruptcy Court. Judge Matthews is certified as a family court mediator and circuit court mediator.

Judge Matthews is admitted to practice in the state and federal courts in South Carolina.

Judge Matthews was elected on February 7, 2018, to fill the unexpired term of the Honorable W. Thomas Sprott, Jr., 6th Judicial Circuit, Family Court Seat 2.