S P E C I A L
F E A T U R E
Lyndsey E. Siara – Thirteenth Judicial Circuit
Continued from page 18
Judge Sisco is also a devout
practitioner of her faith. Every
Judge Sisco’s affection for
other week, she spends time
nature and history is apparent.
at Tampa General Hospital
A self-described “Florida girl,”
serving as a Eucharistic Minister
if sunshine is not in the forecast,
on the vascular surgery floor.
Judge Sisco loves a good
The ritual is particularly
thunderstorm. In her dining
meaningful to her, and an
room is a large panoramic
ever-present reminder of life’s
Carlton Ward photograph of a
fragility and the importance of
storm rolling in over the
prioritizing those things and
lighthouse at Boca Grande. When
people most important to her.
her children have asked why they
In what was one of the most
have such a “scary” picture
profound moments of her life,
showcased, Judge Sisco stresses to
her faith and career intersected
them that the picture represents
while trying a death penalty
the majesty of nature, something
case. She and Assistant State
both wild and beautiful that is to
Attorney Jay Pruner were trying
be respected, but not feared.
a capital murder trial, and their
In her free time, Judge Sisco
closing argument asking the jury
likes to read historical fiction,
to impose a sentence of death
and gravitates towards books
fell on Ash Wednesday — one
about war. She relishes in the
of the holiest days of her faith.
Judge Sisco and her family
logistics and analytics of war —
The
significance of the request
visiting Barcelona, Spain.
perhaps finding parallels to her
was not lost on her then or now.
judicial assignment. Her book -
Recently, a death warrant came
mark currently holds its place in Rich Atkinson’s
to her from the Governor’s Office (evidently, when a
Liberation Trilogy, which chronicles the European theater
death warrant is signed, one final review of the entire
in WWII, starting with the initial amphibious landing
process — from the trial court through the appellate
of U.S. troops in North Africa. Judge Sisco wryly noted
court — occurs). The significance of her role once again
that the chaotic invasion could have largely been
weighed heavily on her.
avoided if women had been in charge of loading the
But Judge Sisco is no stranger to making tough calls.
ships at the naval yard in Virginia Beach — women
Like the umpire described by Supreme Court Justice John
inherently know to pack last the items needed first.
Roberts, Judge Sisco acknowledges that her role requires
Her all-time favorite historical figure — a tidbit she
her to call balls and strikes every day. “Being in trial all
offered without my prompting — is Julius Caesar, the
day every day, I have to be comfortable with making
consummate military tactician.
on-the-spot decisions,” she explains, “and be comfortable
with the possibility that any one of those decisions could
be wrong, and cause reversal.” While she appreciates the
weightiness of that reality, she also knows that most
attorneys simply want a definitive
decision; of course, they want to
“win,” but for the most part, having
a judge who will just make the call is
paramount.
Until next time…
Author: Lyndsey E. Siara – Thirteenth
Judicial Circuit
SEPT - OCT 2018
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