COURIEL VOWS TO ‘TREASURE EACH DAY’ AS CHIEF JUSTICE

Chief Justice John Couriel says he has learned two things in his first 70 days leading the Florida Supreme Court: He is grateful for the opportunity, and he intends to treasure every day he has the opportunity to do the job.

“It brings me joy to try to do it well,” Couriel told a full courtroom September 9 as former Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz ceremoniously passed the gavel to him at the Supreme Court in Tallahassee. Earlier in the day, Couriel presided over his first oral arguments as chief justice.

Couriel assumed the chief justice position July 1, succeeding Muñiz. The ceremony brought together family, friends, colleagues, court staff, and five former chief justices, who offered advice and reflections on the responsibilities of leading Florida’s court system.

“This is a job I do not deserve; that I will only do for a little while,” Couriel noted, saying he is grateful to the chief justices who came before him for their “leadership by example,” to his colleagues on the court “who kindly keep me ever alert to the possibility that I am mistaken,” and to dedicated people who make up the court’s staff and support — the Clerk’s Office, Marshal’s Office, Office of the State Courts Administrator, and The Florida Bar — “who do their best to make sure there will be something for others to reap from whatever I get to sow.”

Couriel also thanked Floridians for their trust and support, including his wife, Rebecca, and their children, Jonas and Eden.

“Which brings me to the second thing I already know. I will treasure each day I get to do this,” he said.

Couriel drew on the 90th Psalm, which includes the admonition to “number our days that we may gain heart and wisdom.”

“For the first wisdom is to remember that we end,” Couriel said. “That our days are numbered and that no forthcoming one is promised.”

The Psalm, he said, offers an answer to Solomon’s prayer — “the eventual prayer of every judge” — for an understanding heart to discern between good and bad.

For judges, that wisdom means recognizing that “we have only the case before us today to decide.”

“Our only agenda is truth,” Couriel said, “and a foretaste of an award waiting us at the end of our days is available in small but sustaining measure each time we set out to do justice.”

The former chief justices offered their own advice.

Former Chief Justice Major Harding, who served as chief beginning in 1998, emphasized awareness, recalling that an opinion he wrote for a unanimous court ruling against then-Gov. Lawton Chiles was released the day after Harding’s own passing-the-gavel ceremony, where Chiles had spoken highly of him.

Harding joked that although he would not have changed his vote, he might have delayed releasing the opinion for a week. Gov. Chiles and his wife encountered Harding later that week at church and, Harding recalled, the governor’s wife patted him on the shoulder and said, “Good morning, chief justice,” while Gov. Chiles “walked by and twisted my ear.”

“We wish you every happiness and success in this wonderful role as chief justice,” Harding told Couriel.

Former Chief Justice Ricky Polston offered his own advice about awareness of timeliness.

“My recommendation is timeliness,” Polston said. “Timeliness for the Florida Supreme Court. Timeliness for the entire judiciary. The trains need to run on time.”

Polston said he has “every confidence” Couriel will do a great job.

Former Chief Justice Charles Canady turned to gratitude, quoting the Roman lawyer and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero on the importance of being grateful.

Canady said prudence may be considered an important virtue, but virtues without gratitude can become “a sterility of self-satisfaction and a coldness.”

“Do everything you can to foster a sense of gratitude in all the people who play a role in our system of justice,” Canady advised.

Canady said no one who has served on the Supreme Court “better exemplifies and models that gratitude” than Chief Justice Couriel.

Former Chief Justice Jorge Labarga, who is still a member of the court, emphasized the importance of being visible and accessible.

“I think you are perfectly suited for this job because in this job you need to be out there meeting people,” Labarga said. “You are the face of the Florida Supreme Court,” and Couriel’s personality fits the role perfectly.

Labarga added that all the justices are “smart enough” to serve on the court, “we just wish we could say things like he can.”

Muñiz said ceremonies such as this one remind the justices just what a blessing it is to serve and of the great people the justices get to work with.

Muñiz said he is confident Couriel will do a great job because of his dedication to service and commitment to preserving the culture he inherited from his predecessors.

He also praised Couriel’s personal qualities and said when people think of the best qualities of each of their colleagues, Couriel possesses all those same qualities.

Couriel, 48, is the 58th chief justice and the 90th justice to serve on the Florida Supreme Court. A Miami native, he was appointed to the court by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2020.

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