For more than half a century, a Judge Green has presided in Polk County. That tradition will soon end.
Polk County Court Judge Mary Catherine Green announced that she will retire on July 31 after 26 years on the bench. Green’s late father, Oliver L. Green Jr., served as a judge for more than 30 years.
Mary Catherine Green was first elected in 1998 and began her service in 1999. During her time on the bench, she has served in criminal, civil and specialty courts, according to a news release from the 10th Judicial Circuit.
Green, 63, is well short of the mandatory retirement age of 75 for Florida judges.
“I’ve been working nonstop since 1987, and it’s time to move on to the next chapter,” she said.
Green was reelected in 2022 to a six-year term. With her retirement, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be able to appoint a replacement until the next election for the seat is held.
A graduate of Lakeland High School, Green earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida in English studies with emphasis on Shakespeare before gaining a law degree from Louisiana State University. She also holds a master’s in creative writing from Florida State University.
Green contributed to the creation of a local order requiring a defendant charged with a violent crime to have no contact with the alleged victim, the release said.
“I believe that that has possibly either saved people or made people feel safer, so that they can make a decision as to what they want to do, whether to pursue an injunction or not,” she said.
Judge sees ballooning cases
Green cited two main changes in the circuit since she joined the bench: a surge in caseloads and the increased demand for translation services. Polk County’s population has expanded by about 350,000 people since 2002, Green said, but the state has not added a judge position to the 10th Judicial Circuit in that period.
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“So, my dockets have increased dramatically from even just a few years ago,” Green said.
While the 10th Circuit is designated as medium-sized by the state, it has a higher demand for interpreters than all but one of the large circuits, Green said.
“Our Hispanic community has more than doubled in size throughout the past decade, and we have consequently encountered more specialty dialects and a variety of languages,” she said. “Our court interpreter’s office has done a wonderful job in helping us find folks to assist us in communication.”
Green has been active in preserving oral histories of the bench and bar, and she helped coordinate the 10th Judicial Circuit’s centennial celebrations, the release said. That effort yielded the creation of the Tenth Judicial Circuit of Florida Historical Society and the website https://tenthcircuitflhistory.com.
The judge has donated her historical materials to the Polk County History Center and the Lakeland History and Culture Center at the Lakeland Public Library. The trove includes transcripts of interviews with such figures as Martha Barnett, the first female partner at the Holland and Knight law firm and a former president of the American Bar Association.
Green is working with the Polk County History Center on developing a program covering the history of the judicial circuit history from 1965 to the present.
“To me, history is happening now, and I think it’s very important to remember the people that have contributed to making our circuit one of the best circuits in the state of Florida and in the United States, in my opinion,” Green said. “It’s important to honor people. And I have worked very hard throughout my career to do that, and I also see it as public service for public education.”
Following her father’s lead
In 2015, Green received the Karla Foreman Wright Award, given by the Polk County Trial Lawyers Association for “professionalism, courtesy and leadership both on and off the bench which traits were exemplified by the life and service of Judge Wright.” Wright, the first Black woman named to the Polk County court system, died in 2012 at age 63.
In addition, Green was honored in 2021 as Jurist of the Year by the Polk Association of Women Lawyers. In 2023, she received that group’s first Outstanding Achievement Award, the release said.
Last year, the Lakeland Bar Association presented Green with the Jerry A. DeVane Award, given to a lawyer “in recognition of his or her extraordinary scholarship, professionalism and collegiality in the practice of law.” Oliver Green received the same award in the 1990s.
Oliver Green became a Lakeland municipal judge in 1971 before being elected to a Circuit Court seat two years later. He served in that role until Gov. Lawton Chiles appointed him to the Second District Court of Appeal in 1998.
Green retired from the bench in 2002. He died in 2021 at age 88. The main courtroom at the Polk County Courthouse is named for him.
Mary Catherine Green’s mother, Mona Lee Rowell Green, was an elementary school teacher in Polk County. She and her husband volunteered for many years with parent-teacher groups, Campfire and other local organizations, the release said.
In 2014, the Lakeland Bar Association created the Oliver L. and Mona Green Spirit of Giving Award.
Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on X @garywhite13.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: End of family era: Mary Catherine Green will retire after 26 years as a Polk County judge
Reporting by Gary White, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
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