Hillsborough Circuit Judge Will Leave Post On Feb. 1

TAMPA - Hillsborough Circuit Judge Monica Sierra will resign her seat effective Feb. 1.

Sierra announced in November that she would take a three-month leave of absence to teach Palestinians in Israel about Americans and the Bible. Wednesday and Thursday, Sierra called Chief Judge Manuel Menendez from Israel to say she has decided to remain overseas and to plan her exit, Court Administrator Mike Bridenback said.

"It is my understanding that she is going to come back in March, as she originally planned, but then go back," Bridenback said.

She will only return to the United States to "tie up loose ends," Bridenback said.

Sierra is in Jericho on the West Bank volunteering with the Living Bread International Church and helping organize an administrative plan for relief efforts.

When she announced her trip in November, she said she would present the "word of God" and the "name of Jesus" in black-and-white terms, not in any specific interpretation.

When the organization provides water, baby formula, clothing and other aid, the people are receptive to the religious ideas, she said in November.

Sierra was elected to a six-year term in 2003 and would have been up for re-election in November. She has worked primarily in family law and spent her past 11 months in juvenile dependency court.

At a news conference in November, Sierra said her work in Israel ultimately will provide help to children who come before her in court.

An e-mail explaining Sierra's decision to continue her work in Israel was sent to all local judges Thursday.

Bridenback said the chief judge has notified the governor's office about the vacancy. He expects the governor to ask a judicial nomination committee to begin the search for qualified candidates.

In Florida, the governor appoints an active lawyer when a judicial position opens in mid-term. In the case of Sierra's vacant seat, whoever replaces Sierra would sit until 2010, then would have to seek re-election.

The circuit judge seat pays a $145,080 annual salary.