Katherine Mullinax appointed to Palm Beach County Court

Image via 15th Judicial Circuit Court.

Lawyer Katherine Mullinax is the newest member of the Palm Beach County Court bench.

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Mullinax, who has served as General Counsel for the 15th Judicial Circuit since June 2022, to replace Judge Robert Panse in presiding over both criminal and civil cases.

A Jupiter resident, Mullinax holds a juris doctor from Florida International University and a bachelor’s degree from Old Dominion University in Virginia. She was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2012, the same year she earned her law degree.

Prior to her public sector work, Mullinax worked as the sole practitioner of Mullinax Law Group, a limited liability company she incorporated in March 2020 and voluntarily dissolved in January 2023.

She goes by Katherine, her middle name. Her first name is Mary.

Mullinax began working for the 15th Judicial Circuit in 2021 and was selected by its hiring panel to serve as General Counsel the year after. Before her promotion, she served as a Supervising Trial Law Clerk, according to a post by the Circuit Court’s X account.

Panse informed DeSantis on May 3 that he planned to retire on July 15. He said it was “an honor to serve the citizens of Palm Beach County and State of Florida” during a career that spanned nearly 42 years.

His work included seven years of private practice and nearly 35 years of combined public service as an Assistant State Attorney, in-house counsel at the South Florida Water Management District and, by the time he planned to step down, 12 and a half years as a County Judge.

“I am especially proud of my service as a Palm Beach County Court Judge and will look back on it with fond memories,” he wrote.

A June 26 Facebook post by the 15th Judicial Circuit wrote of Panse, “He will be remembered for his diligence and … public service, for the benefit of the Palm Beach County citizens.”

Panse was appointed in 2011 by then-Gov. Rick Scott. He went on to keep the post by voter approval twice, once in 2014 and again in 2020.

Mullinax will serve the remainder of Panse’s current term, which expires in January 2027.