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Appellate Judge Polston Appointed To Florida Supreme Court

Tribune photo by COLIN HACKLEY

Ricky Polston worked in the Tampa Bay area as a certified public accountant prior to his law career.

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By CATHERINE DOLINSKI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 1, 2008

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Charlie Crist announced this morning that he has chosen Judge Ricky Polston of the First District Court of Appeal to sit on the Florida Supreme Court.

Polston, 52, takes the place of retiring Justice Kenneth Bell. He is Crist's second appointment to the state's highest bench this year, following the pick of Second District Court of Appeal Justice Charles Canaday to replace Justice Raoul Cantero, who resigned.

"I have taken care in selecting this justice," Crist said of Polston this morning at a news conference outside the governor's mansion. "And I think it's important to understand that people who have the kind of humility and humanity and fairness are the people I'm looking for. And I have found such a man in now-Justice Polston."

Polston grew up on a farm in Graceville, where he was a high school valedictorian before attending Florida State University as an undergraduate and law student. He joined the First District Court of Appeal in 2001 and has ruled in more than 6,000 appellate cases. He also worked in the Tampa Bay area as a certified public accountant prior to his law career.

Polston and his wife of 31 years, Deborah Ehler Polston, are parents to 10 biological and adopted children. After the last of their four biological daughters was grown, they adopted six brothers from state foster care, ages 1 through 15.

His experience with the foster care system, he said during the news conference, gives him a deeper appreciation for the challenges in that system as well as for the importance of Crist's initiative to increase adoptions.

"It gave us, also, an appreciation for litigants who go through the court system who sometimes find delays because it's a very frustrating process," he said.

Asked about his judicial philosophy, Polston told reporters, "I would not legislate from the bench."

Reporter Catherine Dolinski can be reached at (850) 222-8382 or cdolinski@tampatrib.com.

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