Found unfit four years ago, ex-judge tries for bench

A woman removed from her county judge seat by the Florida Supreme Court files to run for a heftier circuit court spot.

By DAVID KARP, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 28, 2002

TAMPA -- Former County Judge Elizabeth "Betsey" Hapner, removed from office for a pattern of dishonest and irresponsible behavior, wants to be a judge again.

Hapner filed Thursday to become a candidate for an open circuit court seat.

"I felt a calling to the bench," Hapner said Thursday. "And I still do."

If she wins, Hapner, 45, would return to the County Courthouse as a circuit judge four years after the Florida Supreme Court found her unfit for the bench.

If she beats four other lawyers already vying for the seat, it could be a first: No judge removed from office has successfully returned to the bench in Florida's history, said Brooke Kennerly, executive director of the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which oversees Florida's judges.

Hapner had been a county judge hearing misdemeanor cases for less than a year when she was accused of misconduct. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that she had neglected clients while running for office and had given dishonest answers in court. The Florida Bar also suspended Hapner's law license for 90 days last April and then placed her on probation for a year.

That probation ends next week, Hapner said Thursday.

"It's ancient history," she said of the disciplinary proceedings. "I don't plan to live the entire rest of my life revisiting the allegations of a four-month period six years ago. I learned from the experience. I gained additional strength."

Lawyers were flabbergasted to learn that she planned to try to join the ranks of circuit judges, who hear felony criminal and larger civil court cases.

"She has no business being a judge," said Joseph H. Varner III, an attorney at Knopnik, Krieger & Varner, who represented the JQC in its disciplinary proceedings against Hapner. "The record of her JQC action speaks for itself."

The Florida Constitution does not prevent a judge removed from office from getting elected again.

"I don't know of any rule or statute that prohibits her from running again," Varner said, "but there should be one under these circumstances."

Hapner, a former assistant public defender and assistant state attorney, first won election to the county bench in 1996, beating out five opponents. Her campaign wasn't hurt by bad press caused by a messy divorce and a restraining order she filed against her husband, a Tampa police detective.

But in 1997, she was accused of having neglected clients while she ran for office and of giving misleading testimony during the bitter divorce.

Hapner claimed that she had telephone answering machine tapes that showed her estranged husband making violent threats, but she failed to produce them when a judge ordered her to, the JQC said. The agency said she gave "inaccurate and incomplete testimony" about the tapes in a domestic violence hearing as well.

The JQC said she essentially abandoned her law practice and neglected clients while running for office, failed to comply with an appeal court's repeated order to produce an overdue legal brief, and then gave untruthful and inaccurate answers in explaining the issue.

Hapner was also accused of failing to pay her 1996 Florida Bar membership dues on time, resulting in a suspension from the practice of law; allowing her professional bank account to become overdrawn 48 times; and letting a client trust account become overdrawn at least twice.

"There wasn't any question about my abilities or my service as a judge," Hapner said Thursday. "Even the JQC found I did an excellent job on the bench."

During her 1998 trial on the charges, Hapner broke down in tears when asked if she felt she owed the community an apology.

She admitted making "mistakes in judgment," but disputed she should be removed for her errors. She acknowledged not finishing work for clients, but also cast blame away, saying "people's perceptions differ" and "memories fail."

Thursday, Hapner still denied she neglected clients and attributed other mistakes to depression caused by extreme hypothyroidism. Hapner said she now has the condition under control.

As part of her probation, the Florida Bar has required her to get quarterly mental health evaluations.

After she was removed from the bench, Hapner opened a private practice and also worked for a few months last year for Public Defender Julianne Holt doing research. The temporary state job allowed Hapner to qualify for a pension she otherwise could not have received.

Asked about the job at the time, Hapner said she already qualified for the pension without working for Holt. The Department of Management Services, which oversees the pension system, disagreed.

Lawyers have seen Hapner for months on the campaign circuit, attending civic luncheons and spending weekends at community events. The Times asked Hapner twice last year if she was thinking of running. She said no. In fact, she hadn't even considered the idea, she said.

Lawyers Ray Brooks, Woody Isom, Monica Sierra and Brad Souders have also filed to run for the circuit seat that Hapner is seeking.

Reached Thursday, both Sierra and Isom said they would not use Hapner's disciplinary history in their campaigns.

"I would rather take the high road," Isom said.

-- Staff writer David Karp can be reached at 226-3376 or karp@sptimes.com.

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