On The Record - Columbus School of Law

A N O T H E R B A R R I E R B R O K E NGeneral’s Office. Quince wound up spending 13years there, five as the Tampa bureau chief andanother three years closely focused on death penaltycases.Her historical career rise began in 1993. Shebecame the first black woman appointed to one ofthe state’s district courts of appeals. In 1997, anunprecedented event occurred. Outgoing Gov.Lawton Chiles, a Democrat, and then-governorelectJeb Bush, a Republican, found themselves atodds as to who would select the replacement forretiring State Supreme Court Justice Ben Overton.Overton’s final day fell just before Bush’s swearing-inceremony. The two governors decided toavoid what could have turned into a bitter legal fightby sharing the duty of finding his successor. Theyseparately interviewed four finalists. In the end, theyboth concluded that Quince should take the benchas the court’s 79th justice. They jointly named her tothe position on Dec. 8, 1998.Nearly 10 years later, her colleagues unanimouslyelected her to succeed Justice R. Fred Lewisas the state’s chief justice, making Quince the thirdwomen to serve in the position. Justices RosemaryBurkett and Barbara Pariente are her predecessors.The role of chief justice, Pariente explains,“entails frequent travel for meetings and speeches,going through the enormous piles of paper involvedin managing a branch of government,dealing constantlywith the leaders of the otherbranches, as well as working onthe cases that come to ourcourt.”Quince’s two-year termbegan July 1. She assumed therole of the court’s leader duringa time of unusual transition.Two justices recently retired,and two more are expected toleave their positions next yeardue to Florida’s mandatoryretirement age. In addition toacclimating to new fellowjurists, Quince also has to dealwith budget challenges in thecourt system as a result ofspending cuts.Quince is committed tocontinuing former JusticeLewis’ work with the mentally ill and helping fosterchildren. Pariente says she and Quince share a passionfor visiting facilities around the state that treatyouths in trouble. She has noticed how the faces ofan audience of girls light up when the two womenJustice Quince was also invited by formerDean William Fox to speak about the 50thanniversary of the Supreme Court’s historicruling in Brown v. Board of Education.Justice Quince was honored with the 2004 Alumni AchievementAward presented by CUA’s Black Law Students Association.visit. “Justice Quince in particular seems to reallyreach into their hearts when they hear her life storyas the child of a single parent who grew up in a segregatedschool system, and today she is the chief justice,the leader of the entire third branch of governmentin Florida. You can see the hope begin tosparkle in their eyes,” Pariente says.Quince has received many awards throughouther career, including honorarydoctor of laws degrees fromStetson University and St.Thomas University School ofLaw. She was also inducted lastyear into the Florida Women’sHall of Fame by Gov. Crist.Her official work day mayend as the sun sets overTallahassee, but Florida’s chiefjustice spends her eveningsparticipating in communityand professional organizations,such as The Links Incorporated,Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority andTallahassee Women Lawyers,which mentors lawyers.“My goal was to helppeople,” says Quince as sheponders her accomplishments.“I think I’ve done thatin my career. So, yes, I haveaccomplished the things I wanted to do in life. Ithink being on the State Supreme Court is justthe icing on the cake.”28CUALAWYER /Fall–Winter 2008