Monday Profile

Monday, April 10, 2000

By JOHN CHAMBLISS
The Ledger

BARTOW -- Ever since he was a Lakeland High student, Jay Yancey wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and practice law.

His father, Quillian Yancey, a former Polk County state attorney, state representative, state senator and FBI agent,influenced him more than he knew at the time.

"He never said anything out loud, but I think he influenced me whenever I saw him practice," the new County Court judge said from his eighth-floor office at the courthouse in Bartow.

The elder Yancey, who also served as interim Polk County sheriff in 1976, set high expectations for his son.

"I never felt pressure from him, but the example he set made me work harder," his son said.

After 15 years as a divorce and criminal attorney, Yancey said he had a desire to do something else.

"I've always felt strongly about performing public service," Yancey said.

He took a pay cut from his private practice in Lakeland to take the $104,000-a-year position in Bartow.

He remembered getting the call from Gov. Jeb Bush on Sunday, Dec. 5, as he watched a professional football game.

"I recognized his voice immediately," Yancey said.

"James' strong litigation background and legal experience with Florida's justice system makes him well-suited for the position of county judge," Bush said in a statement. "He has respect, knowledge and appreciation for the justice system and will use his new position to demonstrate his tremendous instinct and abilities."

Yancey and Ellen Sly Masters were among six nominees sent to Bush in October to fill two new County Court judgeships legislators created in 1999.

He's still settling in. The only personal items in his clutter-free office are pictures of his wife, Teresa, and two daughters, Dana, 12, and Kara, 9. On his walls are plaques, including one from when he served as president of the Lakeland Bar Association in 1991.

When he is not in his judicial robe, you can find Yancey at home spending time with his family, watching football or running on the treadmill.

James Alan Yancey was born on Aug. 5, 1960, in Miami and has lived in Lakeland almost all his life. Yancey graduated from the University of South Florida in 1981 and the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., in 1984.

Immediately after graduating from law school, Yancey took a job at Devane, Munson and Allen in Lakeland, specializing in family law and civil cases. He was made a partner in 1990 when the firm became Devane, Munson, Allen and Yancey. From 1996 to 1999, he had a private practice downtown on South Florida Avenue.

Peter Munson has known Yancey since he was 12 years old. "I remember going with his father to watch him play football," Munson said.

Munson, who practiced law with Quillian Yancey, said Yancey and his son were tight.

"They were always close. I think he encouraged him to go into law the older he got," Munson said.

"He is fair, hard-working and a straight-shooter," he said.

Munson said those qualities will carry over as Yancey begins his career as judge.

"He will do an excellent job by making calm, fair decisions," he said.

Yancey knew he was in for a different type of work when he became judge in January, and he slowly adjusted to the heavy caseload of a county judge.

"I have to concentrate on each case because I am always at the center of the debate," Yancey said. He contrasted it with his former career as an attorney in which, he said, lawyers wait for hours just to be in front of the judge for 10 minutes.

His personality helped him with his current and former professions. Yancey said he compartmentalizes the DUIs, petty thefts and drug charges that he hears in the courtroom when he goes home to his wife and children every day.

"You cannot allow emotions or feelings to get in the way of a smart decision, or it would be difficult to be objective," Yancey said.

THE JUSTICE SYSTEM

But he said there is a problem in America'a courts.

He described his profession as "dealing with the back end of the problem" when it is too late to solve. Criminal problems begin in the home when someone is not raised in a proper environment, Yancey said.

"It is a bad sign for the future of criminal cases because there is more family dysfunction than ever," he said.

The legal system, specifically lawyers, has been the butt of jokes for years, and to quash the wisecracks, Yancey said, lawyers need to begin to conduct themselves in a more professional and civil manner.

"We have the best justice system in the world," he said. But some lawyers can be uncivil when they attempt to win a case, he said.

Attorney and longtime friend Kevin Knowlton agreed with Yancey, saying that in the heat of a trial, law becomes uncivil at times.

Yancey, though, is a breath of fresh air.

"Jay has never stooped to those tactics," Knowlton said, remembering a couple of cases when he opposed Yancey. "He respects you all the time, even when he is your opposition."

The senior partner at Peterson and Myers said Yancey's respect for people along with a common-sense approach toward the law will come in handy as a judge.

Yancey sees himself with a gavel in hand for a long time. In 2002, he plans to run for election to a six-year term.

"As long as I keep winning, I plan to do this for a while," he said.