| Peggy A. Quince | |
| Office1: | Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida |
| Term Start1: | January 5, 1999 |
| Term End1: | January 8, 2019 |
| Predecessor1: | Ben F. Overton |
| Successor1: | Carlos G. Muñiz |
| Office: | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida |
| Term Start: | July 1, 2008 |
| Term End: | June 30, 2010 |
| Predecessor: | R. Fred Lewis |
| Successor: | Charles T. Canady |
| Birth Date: | 3 January 1948 |
| Birth Place: | Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.[1] |
| Website: | Official Site |
Peggy Ann Quince (born January 3, 1948)[2] is a former 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 of 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 for two years, the first African-American woman to head any branch of Florida government.[5]
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 Doctor 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 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]