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Remove ailing judge, panel says
By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD, Times Staff Writer TAMPA -- The state panel that oversees judges is moving to remove Hillsborough Circuit Judge Florence Foster from the bench because of her worsening multiple sclerosis. In documents made public Wednesday, the Judicial Qualifications Commission recommended to the state Supreme Court that she be taken off the job, concluding that she is "permanently disabled and incapable of performing her duties as a circuit court judge." Foster, 48, has been off the bench since last month, when she announced that her poor health would not allow her to continue working. Though she did not resign, her medical reports were forwarded to the JQC in the expectation that the panel would recommend to remove her. That tack could leave her eligible for more comfortable benefits than she would have otherwise enjoyed. If the state Supreme Court follows the JQC's recommendation to remove a judge for health reasons, the judge is eligible for up to 66 percent of his or her monthly salary in disability pay. If a judge simply resigns for health reasons, the judge is eligible for only 42 percent. Foster was one of the two judges who presided full time over Hillsborough County's drug court docket, where she handled 1,500 to 2,000 new cases a year. She came under the spotlight for her handling of the Darryl Strawberry case. Critics said Foster was too lenient with the former Mets and Yankees star, sending him to a drug rehabilitation center rather than prison after he violated his probation numerous times. She fell ill just before it was time for Strawberry's latest court appearance last month. The replacement judge sent Strawberry to prison. Foster was up for re-election in September, but by the qualifying deadline last Friday she had not filed to run. Lawyers Carlos Pazos, Ken Whalen and Martha Cook will contend for her seat. Foster declined to comment Wednesday. -- Christopher Goffard can be reached at 813-226-3337 or goffard@sptimes.com.
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