Faculty Profile: J. Steven Stafford

Judge Steve Stafford is a native of Weakley County, Tennessee. He earned his college degree at the University of Tennessee at Martin. While there, he was named the first Harry S. Truman Scholar for the State of Tennessee. He earned his law degree at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. After graduation he moved to Dyersburg and was in the private practice of law for 10 years. During this time, he also served as Dyersburg City Judge from 1988 until 1993. On June 1, 1993, he was sworn in as Chancellor for the 29th Judicial District. From 1993 until 1994 he also served concurrently as the Dyer County Juvenile Judge. He served as Chancellor until he was appointed to the Court of Appeals on June 12, 2008. Judge Stafford is a Past-President of the Tennessee Judicial Conference, member and former Presiding Judge of the Court of the Judiciary, and Past Dean of the Tennessee Judicial Academy. He is a Fellow of both the Tennessee and American Bar Foundations and is a former Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Tennessee Bar Foundation. In 2007 he was selected as Judge of the Year by the Tennessee Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. He and his wife, Tempe, are the parents of two children, Lynlee Stacy of Ridgeland, Mississippi and Sydnee McCoy of Memphis. They have two grandchildren, Stafford and Collins Stacy.