Governor announces
appointment.
By Bill Rufty
April 5, 2003
The Ledger
LAKELAND -- Polk County Judge James A. Yancey will become the 22nd
judge in the 10th Judicial Circuit on May 1.
Gov. Jeb Bush appointed Yancey to the Circuit Court Friday. The 10th Judicial Circuit
includes Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties.
The 2002 Florida Legislature created two new judges' positions for the circuit because of
growth in caseloads. One was to be elected, and it was filled by then-state Sen. John
Laurent, who ran without opposition last year.
Yancey's appointment fills the other.
The judicial nominating committee for the circuit had submitted the names of Yancey, Polk
County Judge Karla Wright and Hardee County Judge Marcus Ezelle to Bush for his
appointment.
"I, of course, am very honored that the governor appointed me to that bench and look
forward to the challenges," Yancey said Friday, adding he had work on the county
court to finish before moving over to the Circuit Court.
Yancey, 42, has been on the County Court bench since January 2000. He has been the county
administrative judge, elected by fellow judges to hand out court assignments and
administer the caseloads, since July.
"I need to complete the calendar for the county judges for July through December and
finish the implementation of a collections court for fines and court costs for county
criminal court before I leave," he said.
In The Ledger's Judges Poll last year, one lawyer wrote of Yancey, "A no-nonsense
judge. Runs the courtroom efficiently and has a good sense of humor."
Born and reared in Polk County, Yancey received his undergraduate degree from the
University of South Florida in 1981 and graduated from Cumberland School of Law in
Birmingham, Ala., in 1984.
The son of former 10th Judicial Circuit State Attorney and later state Sen. Quillian
Yancey, he was in private law practice from 1984 until 1999, handling mostly civil cases
and family law.
Yancey, his wife, Teresa, and their two daughters, Dana, 15, and Kara, 12, live in
Lakeland.
A circuit judge serves a six-year term and receives an annual salary of $130,000.
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