Farewell, Justice Polston

Justice Ricky Polston

Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston resigned from the bench effective March 31, 2023. Justice Polston served on the Florida Supreme Court from 2008 until 2023 and served as chief justice from 2012 to 2014. In his letter of resignation to Governor DeSantis, Justice Polston wrote, “It is my great honor to serve the people of Florida in the judiciary for over 22 years … I truly am grateful for the opportunity to work with such great jurists, lawyers, and all those involved with the judiciary.”

Justice Polston earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Florida State University in 1975, where he was named the university’s Most Outstanding Accounting Student and graduated summa cum laude. After working in private practice as an accountant for seven years, he returned to Florida State University to attend law school. In 1986, he obtained his Juris Doctorate with high honors from the Florida State University College of Law. He subsequently spent 14 years in private practice until Governor Jeb Bush appointed him to the First District Court of Appeal in 2001. After seven years on the bench of the First District Court of Appeal, Governor Charlie Crist appointed him to the supreme court in 2008.

Justice Polston’s 15 years at the supreme court were marked by many challenges and successes that continue to impact the judicial branch today. When the justices selected him as chief justice for a term beginning in 2012, the courts were managing a backlog of foreclosure cases resulting from the 2008 foreclosure crisis and the Great Recession. In a reflection on his time as chief justice, he noted that “the foreclosure crisis — hundreds of thousands of cases flooding the courts during an economic cataclysm — was an incredible challenge. This was particularly so as I came to understand how imprecise and incomplete was our ability to have an aged accounting for those cases statewide. We took steps to gather accurate, timely information to guide our response.”

Justice Canady swears in Justice Polston to the Florida Supreme Court in 2008

In 2013, more than 330,000 foreclosure cases were pending in Florida’s courts. Before 2008, there were typically only 70,000 foreclosure cases filed annually. Under Justice Polston’s leadership, the court system was successful in advocating for an appropriation from the legislature of more than $21 million to assist the judicial branch in addressing the workload. Accurate data and the accompanying technological practices, such as mandatory electronic filing, to solve the foreclosure crisis became focal points of Justice Polston’s term as chief justice.

Before his term as chief justice, Justice Polston served as chair of the Judicial Branch Governance Study Group in 2009. The group proposed several recommendations for improving the governance of the judicial branch, one of which was the reactivation of the Judicial Management Council, as its previous iteration was temporarily suspended in 2008.

When he became chief justice in 2012, Justice Polston reconstituted the Judicial Management Council for the fourth time. Eleven years later, the same Council – with new membership – continues its work today. When Justice Polston was preparing for the reestablished Council, he considered its previous iterations and limited its membership to 15 voting members representing all levels of the judicial system. The smaller membership aims to ensure the Council can quickly and deftly respond to issues.

During its first meeting, Chief Justice Polston led the group through a detailed introduction with a significant takeaway: the Council would focus on “looking forward” to identify issues before they impact the branch. At that meeting, Chief Justice Polston painted the Judicial Management Council as the “headlights” for the judicial branch, an image still used to describe the Council 11 years later. Justice Canady discussed the importance of the Council when he was chief justice: “The larger purpose of the current version of the [Council] is described by Justice Ricky Polston’s memorable and apt phrase as the judicial branch’s headlights, shining on the road ahead to alert the branch’s leadership to possible hazards and showing the best way forward.”

Justice Polston gives a presentation in the Supreme Court Courtroom

Current Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz regarded Justice Polston as “a good man, and he has been a treasured colleague, friend, and role model to all of us on the Court. We are grateful for Justice Polston’s decades of exemplary service to the people of our state.”  Justice Polston’s service will have lasting impacts on the judicial branch. Through his leadership during the foreclosure crisis, the re-establishment of the Judicial Management Council, and the transition to mandatory e-filing in Florida’s courts, his impact on how the judicial branch serves residents of this state is felt daily.

Justice Polston’s entire life is marked by service to others. He has been married to his wife, Deborah Ehler Polston, for 45 years. They have ten children, six of whom are an adopted sibling group. “I am grateful for the public trust placed in me during my judicial career. It has been my great honor to serve the people of Florida,” he said.  Upon his resignation from the supreme court, Justice Polston will begin a new role as General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer at Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.

Justice Polston speaking at Florida State University’s College of Law graduation, 2019

*Note: This article originally appeared in the Spring-Summer 2023 edition of the Full Court Press.