Previous Judicial Office: Circuit Judge, Second Judicial Circuit: 1999 to 2009.

Previous Legal Assignments: Administrative Judge for both the Criminal and Civil Divisions in the Second Judicial Circuit

Degrees: Florida State University J.D., 1976
Boston University B.A. in Psychology, Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa

Legal and Professional Background: Before becoming a judge, she worked for almost twenty years in various aspects of Florida’s criminal justice system. Judge Ferris began her career as a prosecutor in Fort Lauderdale. Attorney General’s Office, first Chief of the Civil RICO Section: 1978. General Counsel to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement: 1988. Private Practice: 1988 to 1991. Secretary of the Florida Department of Business Regulation: Appointed by Governor Chiles 1991. Department of Juvenile Justice first General Counsel: 1994.

Professional Activities: Executive Council of the Florida Bar’s Criminal Law Section; Criminal Justice Act Task Force; Criminal Workgroup for the Judicial Management Council’s Committee on Trial Court Performance and Accountability; Publications Committee of the Florida Supreme Court; Chair of the Florida Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy Committee; Supreme Court’s Select Committee on Justice Teaching and the Court’s Long-Range Planning Task Force.

Community Involvement: Leadership Tallahassee; Tallahassee Bar Association; American Inn of Court.

Personal Information: Judge Ferris has taught and lectured throughout the United States on juvenile and criminal justice issues including: criminal law, forfeiture, and racketeering statutes. She has been invited to participate in projects sponsored by the United States Department of Justice, the National Judicial College, the Florida Supreme Court, and the Florida Bar.