Judge gets suspended over DUI, alcoholism
Broward County Judge Gisele Pollack was suspended by the state Supreme Court on Friday, after an investigative panel’s recommendation to the court that found Pollack had allegedly violated the code of judicial conduct during her struggles with alcoholism.
The court ordered Pollack, 56, suspended without pay, pending the final outcome of the inquiry. A state website lists her salary as $138,019.
After nearly two decades of sobriety, Pollack relapsed and faces criminal andprofessional charges because of it, according to documents from the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission that were released Friday.
The commission’s notice of formal charges described key events that led to its recommendation for suspension:
On Dec. 17, Pollack acted erratically at the Broward County Courthouse, had suffered a relapse and took the bench while intoxicated.
In February, she met with the commission’s investigative panel in Tallahassee and agreed, in a signed document datedMarch 3, to abstain from using alcohol — and not to work if she drank again.
On March 19, Pollack was intoxicatedonthe bench, was asked to step down, and another judge had to help her walk from the courtroom.
After she was found to be impaired at work March 19, Pollack took a leave of absence and enrolled in an inpatient substanceabusetreatment program in Gainesville.
OnMay 1, after40days in treatment, shedrovehometoBroward andwas involved in a car crash in Plantation. Another driver was injured, and Pollack was arrested and charged with four counts of DUI and failure to use due care.
Pollack’s legal team says she “spiraled out of control” after the death of her mother, with whom she was very close, and the ongoing struggles of her adult son, whowas disabled after a surgery.
“She’s had a relapse, and relapse is part of recovery,” saidEric Schwartzreich, who, along with David Bogenschutz and Frank Maister, is trying to help Pollack and salvage her career. “It’s our position that this is a disease and that it should be treated like any other disease. If she had cancer, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”
From Dec. 19 through March 19, Pollack received treatment at facilities on an outpatient basis, he said.
ThelawyershadhopedPollack could keep her salary to fund medical expenses, and they said she is going to sell her home.
“This is temporary,” Schwartzreich said Friday. “Our nextmove is to show that the suspension — at the right time — should be lifted. And we’ll ask the court to reconsider suspending her with pay.”
During a May 16 hearing, Schwartzreich told the commission thatPollackwas intreatment and in a “very fragile state.”
He acknowledged that those on the panelwere probably upset that, despite giving Pollack a chance, she relapsed just 16 days after agreeing to be sober and later had theDUI crash.
Pollack’s current term ends in 2016.