Removal from bench is recommended for judge who went to work at drug court while intoxicated
Sober for 20 years, a Florida judge who is an admitted alcoholic relapsed during a difficult time in her life.
Disciplined for coming to work intoxicated on Dec. 17, 2013, Broward County Judge Gisele Pollack promised the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission never to do so again. But on March 19, Pollack, who served as presiding judge on the county’s drug court, took the bench under the influence and had to be removed by another jurist, the Sun Sentinel reports.
That incident, as well as a May 1 traffic accident after Pollack walked out of a rehabilitation program and, admittedly, drank and drove, led to her suspension without pay.
Now the JQC is recommending that she be permanently removed from her $138,019-a-year job, rejecting Pollack’s plea for her alcoholism to be treated as a disability.
“We admire her resolve, commend her apparent commitment to recovery, and wish her only success in this endeavor,” the commission said in its written ruling Monday. “We owe our allegiance, however, to the people of Florida, not any individual judge … Judge Pollack is being disciplined for her public conduct on and off the bench, not for being an alcoholic.”
The Florida Supreme Court will determine at a later date whether to follow the JQC’s recommendation.
Pollack is one of three Broward County judges to face driving-under-the-influence cases within a period of little more than six months. The other two are Circuit Judge Cynthia Imperato, who was convicted by a jury last month, and Circuit Judge Lynn Rosenthal, who pleaded guilty months ago to a lesser charge of reckless driving, as Local10.com reported at the time. Both apparently remain on the job.
Rosenthal blamed a courthouse parking lot crash on a prescription sleeping aid she had taken the night before.
Related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Suspended without pay, judge asks top state court to treat her alcoholism as a disability”
ABAJournal.com: “1 of 3 county judges charged with DUI pleads guilty against counsel’s advice, gets probation”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Judge who flashed badge at police officer claims selective DUI prosecution, but jury convicts her”
Sun Sentinel: ” Broward Judge Imperato’s job waits for her — for now”
