Leon County Judge Harley to retire due to physical disability

By Bill Cotterell and Jeff Burlew • DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITERS • May 1, 2008

The Florida Supreme Court has granted disability retirement for Leon County Judge Tim Harley, who is battling ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.
The justices, in a Wednesday order, said Harley's retirement, effective at midnight, was "due to a physical disability which seriously interferes with the performance of his judicial duties."

Harley had already announced he would not run for re-election this year, and three people had filed to run for the seat, Nina Ashenafi Richardson, Leonard Holton and Sean Desmond.

However, the vacancy has changed all that. Under the Florida constitution, Gov. Charlie Crist will be able to appoint someone to serve in the position into early 2011. An election for the seat will be held in the fall of 2010.

Harley, a county judge since 2000, said he began experiencing weakness in his arms and legs, fatigue and speech difficulties in 2005. Now, he said, his speech is slow and sometimes difficult to understand. However, he said his mind has not been affected.

He said he's received the support of friends, family and colleagues and that he's been meeting with doctors over the past few weeks.

"After weighing their advice, I have now decided that it is best for my health and for the court that I apply for judicial disability retirement," he wrote.

ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is a debilitating disease that eventually causes paralysis. It's also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, named after the New York Yankees first-baseman who was stricken with it.

Harley, 57, said he'll miss the job and the people he worked with, from bailiffs to fellow judges.

"You never know for sure when it's best to hang up your cleats or lay down your gavel," he wrote, "but I am completely comfortable with my decision to seek retirement. I won't try to top Lou Gehrig's record of being the 'luckiest man on earth,' but I do consider myself to be a very lucky man. So far, the progression of the disease has been slower than average."

Chief Judge Charles Francis called Harley "an important member of the Second Judicial Circuit Court family." He said Harley's "hard work and cooperative spirit will be missed by all of us."

Circuit Judge James Hankinson said Harley was always willing to help out with whatever needed to be done.

"It is frustrating to me because his brilliant mind is still there and still functioning as always," he said in a written release. "It is the terrible shame of this disease that he is just unable to communicate his thoughts or get around in a reasonable fashion. We will miss his wonderful sense of humor, his probing analysis of the issues and his hard work."

http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs...805010331/1010