Peggy Quince

Peggy A. Quince
Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida
Incumbent
Assumed office
1999
Preceded by Ben F. Overton
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida
In office
July 1, 2008  June 30, 2010
Preceded by R. Fred Lewis
Succeeded by Charles T. Canady
Personal details
Born January 3, 1948[1]
Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.[1]
Nationality American
Website Official Site

Peggy Ann Quince (born January 3, 1948)[2] is a Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida, having previously served as Chief Justice from July 1, 2008, until June 30, 2010.[3] Quince was the second African American and third woman to serve as Chief Justice.[4] She had been a Justice on the Court since 1999, and was the first African-American woman to sit on the state's highest Court and the third female Justice. From 1993 to 1997 she served as a judge on Florida's Second District Court of Appeal.[4] On July 1, 2008, Quince assumed the office of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida, the first African-American woman to head any branch of Florida government.[5]

Biography

Quince was raised by her father, Solomon Quince, a civilian employee of the United States Navy, in Chesapeake, Virginia.[4] The second of five children, she had to attend segregated schools, but she excelled as a student.[4] Quince attended Howard University as an undergraduate, and received her Juris Doctorate from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America in 1975. Justice Quince is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.[6] From 1980 to 1993 she worked in the Criminal Division of the Florida Attorney General's office, the last five years as bureau chief for death penalty appeals.[4]

Quince is married to Fred Buckine, also an attorney, with whom she has two daughters.[4]

Appointment

Quince is the only Supreme Court Justice in Florida history to be appointed simultaneously by more than one Governor. Because her term began the exact moment that Governor-elect Jeb Bush assumed his office, in order to avoid potential future controversy over her appointment, Bush worked out a joint agreement with lame duck Governor Lawton Chiles whereby they both agreed upon and jointly announced Quince's appointment in December 1998. When Chiles died of a heart attack a few days later, the task of signing Quince's commission to office fell to Chiles' temporary successor, Governor Buddy MacKay. Thus, three Governors were involved in Quince's appointment.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Florida Supreme Court Justice Profile of Peggy A. Quince". Supreme Court of Florida. Retrieved 2007-10-12.
  2. "Chronology of the Chief Justices of Florida". The Office of Public Information, State of Florida. 2010-06-30. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  3. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Jan Pudlow, "Peggy Ann Quince, Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court", The Florida Bar Journal, Vol, 82, No. 9 (October 2008), p. 11–20.
  4. Ash, Jim (2008-03-15). "Quince to be Florida's first African-American female chief justice". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2008-03-19.
  5. Quince Elected Chief Justice of Florida Supreme Court. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. Retrieved March 19, 2008.

External links