Judge plans leave for missionary trip

TAMPA -- Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Monica Sierra plans to leave the bench for two to three months, beginning in January, to go on a missionary trip.

She notified fellow judges Monday that she is headed to Israel on the sabbatical, which is a first for a judge in the courthouse since at least 1994, court officials said.

Court Administrator Mike Bridenback said he didn't know many details about the trip. But he said her leave would be unpaid. Sierra makes $145,000 a year.

She was elected in 2002 and serves in the Juvenile Dependency division, which has five full-time judges and about 1,200 new cases each year. Senior judges or retired justices who act as substitutes in the courthouse will cover Sierra's absence, Bridenback said.

Sierra plans to hold a news conference Wednesday to talk about the trip, court spokesman Calvin Green said.

- Justin George, Times staff writer