On Friday, February 1, 2019, at 3: 00 P.M. (Central), an investiture will be held for the Honorable Dustin Stephenson at the Bay County Courthouse located at 300 East Fourth Street, Panama City. Judge Stephenson was appointed Circuit Judge by Gov. Rick Scott to fill the seat vacated by Judge James B. Fensom, who retired on December 31, 2018. Commissioned to take office on January 2, 2019, Judge Stephenson’s assignment will include circuit court duties in Bay and Gulf Counties.
Judge Stephenson was born and raised in Panama City and graduated from Bay High School in 1992. He completed his undergraduate degree with Honors from the University of Florida in 1996 and earned his law degree with Honors from The Florida State University College of Law in 2000. Following law school, he returned home to Bay County and went to work for the State Attorney’s Office where he worked as a felony prosecutor until 2007, when he entered private practice. He opened his own solo law firm in 2009 handling both state and federal cases over the last ten years. Judge Stephenson is Board Certified in Criminal Trial Law. He has been happily married to his wife for 21 years, and they have two children.
