"The Robing Room: FL State Judges

Hon. James B. Fensom	See Rating Details
Circuit Court
Bay County 14th Circuit	See Comments

Attorney Average Rating: 5.1 - 6 rating(s) Non-Attorney Average Rating: 3.0 - 8 rating(s)	Please send me alerts on this judge E-mail Address:

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Only items marked with (*) are averaged into the displayed overall rating.

General Rating Criteria

* Temperament		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Scholarship		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Industriousness		(1=Not at all industrious,10=Highly industrious)
* Ability to Handle Complex Litigation		(1=Awful,10=Excellent)
* Punctuality		(1=Chronically Late,10=Always on Time)
* General Ability to Handle Pre-Trial Matters		(1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
* General Ability as a Trial Judge		(1=Not all Able, 10=Extremely Able)
Flexibility In Scheduling		(1=Completely Inflexible,10=Very Flexible)

Criminal Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Criminal Litigation		(1=Demonstrates Bias,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
General Inclination Regarding Bail		(1=Pro-Defense,10=Pro-Government)
Involvement in Plea Discussions		(1=Not at all Involved, 10=Very Involved)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Pretrial Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Trial Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)
General Inclination in Criminal Cases Sentencing Stage		(1=Pro-prosecution,10=Pro-defense)

Civil Rating Criteria (if applicable)

* Evenhandedness in Civil Litigation		(1=Not at all Evenhanded,10=Entirely Evenhanded)
Involvement in Settlement Discussions		(1=Not at all Involved,10=Very Involved)
General Inclination		(1=Pro-defendant, 10=Pro-plaintiff)

Comments

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What others have said about Hon. James B. Fensom

Comments

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: FL6317
Rating:5.6

Comments:
slow to issue order, but followed the law and made the right decision

Other

Comment #: FL6316
Rating:3.0

Comments:
Gave tenants that we were evicting another 30 days in our house. They had only asked for the weekend. They don't even have to pay. We have to rent a hotel for 15 days. Pro defense....shut me down at every angle. So sad. Said when you buy a foreclosure you can expect things to not go the way you need. And this was all the banks fault for not issuing proper notices. I'm on the streets and she is living in my house! Good job Judge!

Other

Comment #: FL4315
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Trampled on the law to the point where the Clerk of Court had to personally apologize to us for such an asinine decision. This resulted in the theft of land from my father, no doubt to ensure an attorney who works for Baron & Reddy, the firm Fensom worked at from 1979 to 2005, won the case.

Other

Comment #: FL3795
Rating:7.0

Comments:
Fensom does not seem to be beholden to many of the political cults in Bay County. Therefore, he gets some opposition from the establishment.

Other

Comment #: FL3605
Rating:8.0

Comments:
Most of the negative opinions seem to be sprouting from a particular opposition political effort. Fensom does not seem to believe in "old boy" justice and has done a great deal to improve the state of the juvenile justice in his jurisdiction.

Other

Comment #: FL3460
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge Fensom used to be on the Gulf Fisheries Board. He said that the biggest threat to the Gulf of Mexico was grouper fishermen. Why would anyone hate commercial fishermen? They are like farmers of the sea.

Other

Comment #: FL3458
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Someone just showed me this site. This judge was terrible to a friend of mine at church named Terry. Terry was taken from his twin sister against the advice of social workers, and left in an orphanage. His twin sister was put in the care of a child abuser because the wife of the documented abuser said she would take care of the twin sister. She continued to suffer and Terry did not get to see his twin anymore. Judge Fensom did not seem to care about the children in that case. I hope nobody votes for this judge.

Other

Comment #: FL3457
Rating:2.0

Comments:
Judge Fensom the local bar association at an Inns of Court meeting that the public should not be allowed to vote on judges. As the others have said, he is very wealthy, and that seemed to help him get the Governor's appointment to the bench.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: FL3453
Rating:9.7

Comments:
Judge Fensom is a talented, effective judge who understands the proper role of the court. His wealth and range of experience prior to ascending to the bench has assisted him greatly. (A number of the recent ratings may have more to do with a current contested judicial race than anyone's actual reviews of the judge).

Other

Comment #: FL3439
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Judge fensom illegally sentences inmates, I've seen it many of times. He goes on his own rules just like deedee costello did in bay county. He illegally sentenced me to drug offender probation when I have never had a drug charge and did not look at all the evidence I displayed in his courtroom. Violates people's probation on hearsay and does not look at all the proof that a inmate has. He makes public defenders and state attorney agree with what ever decision he makes and I think he needs to be investigated.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: FL3409
Rating:1.0

Comments:
Not necessarily the worst judge, but at least one of the worst I have encountered in the categories mentioned above.

Criminal Defense Lawyer

Comment #: FL3323
Rating:2.2

Comments:
This judge wanders all over the map on decisions. He has no continuity of thought; he just rambles like a tyrant.

Civil Litigation - Private

Comment #: FL3135
Rating:2.5

Comments:
Judge Fensom does not follow established rule and law precedents; he just seems to make up his own rules. As a result, decisions are not predictable. He is very much pro-defense.