BEDFORD — The first of four area attorneys to don the black this year, Stephanie Ayers was sworn in as a Juvenile & Domestic Relations District Court judge on Wednesday.
Ayers will move to the bench after 12 years as a prosecutor at the Bedford County Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney, with another three years early in her legal career spent practicing at a private firm.
Ayers will start hearing cases July 1 and will preside in Bedford County and Lynchburg.
As a J & D judge, she’ll be deciding criminal and civil matters involving juveniles or among household members.
Surrounded by her family and among a courtroom full of supporters, she swore to uphold the law in her duties as a judge in front of Bedford Circuit Court Judge James Updike.
She and area attorney Jennifer Stille are filling two spots on the J & D bench for the 24th judicial district, which consists of Lynchburg and the counties of Bedford, Campbell, Amherst and Nelson. One position is newly funded this year by the General Assembly, while another is that of retiring Judge Mary Driskill.
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Linda Willis, a Bedford attorney and president of the Bedford County Bar Association, pointed out at the investiture that Ayers will be the first woman who’s part of the association to ascend to the bench.
A Bedford County native, Ayers graduated in 1993 from Staunton River High School. As a University of Virginia college student, she interned at the Bedford Circuit Court Clerk’s office and learned from many Bedford-area attorneys and court personnel along the way, Willis said.
Ayers started at the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2003, first taking a part-time and then a full-time job at the office.
“From there, she blossomed into a wonderfully objective and kind and compassionate — and appropriately harsh at the appropriate times — prosecutor, who we’ve always been very thankful and very grateful for,” Willis said.
Bedford County Commonwealth’s Attorney Wes Nance called Ayers a “pillar” of his office who’s been a “best friend” and close colleague he’s discussed cases with over the years.
“You can’t put a string of words together to say what Stephanie Ayers means to this courthouse, to the community and to Bedford County,” he said.
Ayers thanked her family, friends and colleagues in the courtroom after donning the judges’ robe.
“I’m very, very excited to begin this new journey,” she said. “… I’m excited to begin this new chapter in my career. ... I don’t intend to let you down.”