Circuit Judge Torea Spohr has submitted a letter of resignation, weeks after the chief judge for the 10th Judicial Circuit described her as on “an indeterminate leave of absence.”
In the brief letter, dated April 29 and addressed to Gov. Ron DeSantis, Spohr offered no reason for her resignation. She listed the effective date as July 15.
Spohr’s absence began on April 29, Chief Judge James Yancey told The Ledger in early May. Yancey issued a special order on May 1 amending his assignment of judges from Jan. 6 through July 6.
Yancey declined to provide any details on the reason for Spohr’s absence. Spohr copied Yancey on the resignation letter. Yancey said he received a copy of a corrected version of Spohr’s letter in the past 10 days or so.
The chief judge reassigned Spohr’s felony division to Circuit Judge Jalal Harb, who had been overseeing violation of probation cases. Other judges are now picking up those cases as needed, said Nick Sudzina, court administrator for the 10th Judicial Circuit.
The circuit, based in Bartow, handles cases from Polk, Hardee and Highlands counties.
Spohr has been paid throughout her absence and will continue to be paid through July 15, Sudzina said. Circuit judges receive an annual salary of $196,898. Asked why Spohr continues to be paid, Yancey said that he could not comment.
Spohr, 43, gained election to the Circuit Court in 2020, running unopposed for an open seat after Circuit Judge Neil Roddenbery agreed to an involuntary retirement because of early onset dementia, The Ledger reported at the time.
A 2009 graduate of Barry University’s Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law, Spohr was admitted to The Florida Bar the same year. She worked for the Public Defender’s Office from 2009 to 2014 and as a criminal defense lawyer in Lakeland, opening her own practice, which operated in Polk and Highlands counties.
Spohr has no disciplinary history over the past decade, according to The Florida Bar’s website. She is not listed among judges facing discipline cases with Florida’s Judicial Qualifications Commission.