On May 3, 1985, The Honorable Richard W. Riley, Governor of South Carolina, appointed Watson as Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor to fill the unexpired term of William B. Traxler, Jr. In 1986, 1990, and again in 1994, Watson was elected to serve four year terms as Solicitor of Pickens and Greenville Counties. As Solicitor, Watson served on numerous boards and committees, including the Thirteenth Circuit's delegate to the Criminal Law Council of South Carolina, the Criminal Drafting Committee for the South Carolina Uniform Jury Charge Project, the Executive Board of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee, the Advisory Committee for the Drug Free School and Communities Program for the School District of Greenville County, President of the South Carolina Solicitor's Association from 1994 to 1995, the Advisory Board for Greenville Technical College's Alternative Educational Opportunity Program-Operation Success, and the Advisory Committee for the South Carolina Educational Resource Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Watson also served on the South Carolina Victim Assistance Policy Committee, a committee created by the South Carolina General Assembly to advance policy for the State Office of Victim Assistance. He has been an Ex Officio member of Crimestoppers and he was appointed by the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court to the South Carolina Domestic Violence Task Force.

On April 9, 1997, Watson was elected by the South Carolina General Assembly as Circuit Court Judge. He began service as Circuit Judge on July 1, 1997 and retired from the bench in September of 2002. During his tenure as Circuit Judge, Watson sat on the bench in each of the sixteen Judicial Circuits in South Carolina.

He is married to Amy C. Sutherland, former Judge in the Thirteenth Circuit Family Court. They have a son, Robert Asher, and a daughter Mary Elizabeth. Watson is a member of the First Baptist Church of Greenville where he has served on the Missions Committee. He is a former member of the Rotary Club of Greenville and a former member of the Advisory Board for the Salvation Army Boy's Club.