Florida Chief Justice Quince gives Law Day address

SEBRING --

Abraham Lincoln is remembered for leading the country through the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation and, for Chelsea Qualls at least, his beard and hat.

"I just think it makes him unique," said Qualls, a sophomore at Heartland Christian School.

Members of the school's etiquette class worked as servers at Friday's Law Day luncheon. Aside from keeping glasses filled and plates cleared, they too reflected on the country's 16th president, whose legacy was the theme for this year's celebration.

"I like that he came from humble beginnings," said fellow sophomore Lydia Ford. "He worked his way up from being barefoot on the farm to being president of the United States."

Eighth-grader Esther Arnold admired Lincoln's ability to "stay calm under pressure" as he faced the numerous challenges that came with leading a nation during civil conflict.

Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince not only studied Lincoln and his career in both politics and the law, but she has also portrayed him on stage.

"One of the reasons I ended up playing Lincoln in the school play is because I could remember the Gettysburg Address," said Quince in the opening remarks of her Law Day address.

As she prepared for her speech, Quince admitted that she did not know a lot about Lincoln as an attorney.

"He had very little formal education, but that did not stop him from learning," she said, adding that Lincoln traveled across the counties of Illinois representing people. "He was, in fact, the quintessential country lawyer."

Believing that Lincoln would want her to do this, Quince talked about ways legal officials can assist the public during these uncertain economic times.

"We need to step up to the plate and help people who are having real problems accessing the justice system," she said.

Quince advocated giving service through pro bono work. She said Florida was once at the forefront of what was happening in the U.S. in relation to pro bono initiatives. Over the years, however, the state has stagnated in the number of services offered.

"There are about 86,000 lawyers in the state of Florida, but we are providing pro bono services at the same rate that we were when we were 50,000 or 60,000 lawyers," Quince said. "It just seems to me, that as we grow, our numbers of hours and the amount of money that we contribute to legal services should also grow."

One of the services Quince said she is passionate about is the Guardian Ad Litem, which provides professional assistance to abused and neglected children.

"Some of them don't have any real voice about what is going to happen to them," she said

Quince also touched on the "beating" the state's court system has taken over the last few years.

"We started out with a general budget of about $492 million ... .7 percent of the entire budget for the state," she said. "Over the last two years, we've lost $50 million of that and 300 employees."

Quince asked the members of the local legal system in attendance to contact their legislators and ask for more assistance so they can better adjudicate for their clients.

"Cases are increasing and we're being asked to do more and more with less and less," she said.

2009 Law Day Poster Contest Winners

Grades K-1

1st Adreina Palacios; 2nd Emerald Martz; 3rd Jocelyn Pritehard

Grade 2-3

1st Nyssa Lynn Gunthorp; 2nd Chance Galas; 3rd Savannah Albritton

Grades 4-6

1st Matthew Culp; 2nd Connor Poteat; 3rd Zachary Landress

Grades 7-8

1st Makayla Patterson; 2nd Kayla McSwain; 3rd Javonie Litchmore

Grades 9-12

1st Silvia Monroy; 2nd Kiara Mora