by Joe Wilhelm Jr.
Staff Writer
Florida Supreme Court Justice Peggy Quince was honored at a reception hosted by the D.W. Perkins Bar at the University Club Thursday night.
Quince wanted to keep the atmosphere light and mingle with over 150 people from the local judiciary and law community who attended the event, but she couldn’t help talking about two subjects that weighed heavy on her conscience.
“I want to talk to you on behalf of the children of Florida,” said Quince. “As judges and lawyers we make many sacrifices. I am asking that one of the sacrifices you make is to help the children of this state. We have over 35,000 children in foster care. We need more volunteers to help these kids. There are over 80,000 lawyers in this state. We can do better than 700 helping these kids.”
Quince wasn’t just worried about the children entering the system, but also the children who are aging out of the system and are “legally” deemed adults.
“The law says they are adults, but are they really?” asked Quince. “Think about it. Were you ready to be an adult at 18 when most of us were first going off to college? These children don’t know about renting an apartment, what to look for when buying a car or what to put on a resume.”
Quince recommended that members of the audience consider the Guardian Ad Litem program to get involved. There are 21 local Guardian Ad Litem programs in 20 judicial circuits in Florida. These programs provide professional legal representation and counseling for Florida’s abused and neglected children.
“You aren’t thrown out there to handle something you are not capable of,” said Quince. “The program is out there to help you every step of the way.”
The state’s children weren’t the only cause that Quince felt needed help.
“I cannot leave this room without talking about the serious situation the judiciary faces because of budget cuts,” said Quince. “We have suffered major decreases in funding over the last couple of years.”
Quince claimed that budgets for courts are as tight as they can be and if more cuts are needed, the only area left is to cut jobs. The Florida Supreme Court was forced to cut 280 of 3,000 non-judicial positions in the last round of budget cuts. Quince has been speaking out against proposed cuts that could cost the high court another 250 jobs.
“Judges cannot run the courts themselves,” said Quince. “Judges will be forced to adjudicate less cases if judges are forced to do all the functions that staff performs.”
She explained that work doesn’t slow down for the court system during tough economic times. Increases in crime, foreclosures, domestic violence and debt collection are some of the cases that rise during times of financial instability.
“The work will increase,” she said. “Yet we don’t have the manpower to handle it.”
The manpower of the Florida Supreme Court is an issue that Quince doesn’t have a problem with, despite welcoming four new judges to the seven-member high court within the past seven months. Justices Charles Canady and Ricky Polston were recently selected to serve on the Florida Supreme Court, and Justices Harry Anstead and Charles Wells will step down in January and March, respectively, next year.
“It will all work out.” said Quince. “The two new justices served on appellate courts so they know the process. Justice Canady has fit right in and has already taken over some cases.”
The D.W. Perkins Bar Association was named after Daniel Webster Perkins, a pioneer in the law community who was one of the first African-Americans to practice law in Duval County. Its purpose, “continues to be that of a change agent to improve the plight of the African-American community and to erase all effects of past and present discrimination.”
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