Abusive Florida judge resigns after tongue-lashing

From the Miami Herald:

A Broward County circuit judge delivered a blistering, arm-waving, face-palming, tongue-lashing to a frail, out-of-breath woman — pushed into court in a wheelchair — who was facing misdemeanor charges following a family feud.

Three days later, the defendant died.

Judge Merrillee Ehrlich has resigned, although it is unclear when that resignation was provided and when it becomes effective. Watch this judge brutally berate a woman in a wheelchair. The woman died. The judge has quit. | Miami Herald

Vid clip at the length is under 3 minutes, but there are longer clips available. I would like to hope that Judge Erhlich was just having a particularly bad day, but I don't. There was no need to be abusive, and watching a clip last night, I began to feel intimidated even though I was sitting safely in my own home. That poor woman in the wheelchair was trapped and I think, beyond a point, terrified.

One embarrassment to the bench now gone. Good.

What a C word!

I watched the clip; IMO the judge did nothing wrong.
I have seen 'Judge Judy' do a lot worse; she makes nearly $50 million a year and is very popular.

In recent times I have seen certain politicians do waaaaaaaaaaay worse than both of the above judges & this now seems to be accepatble.
I really do not see what the fuss is about.

We’d have to know more but it could be that the judge violated federal law by not responding appropriately to the woman’s request for oxygen treatment and water.

Another demonstration of why "us v. them" so pervades society today. Right out of Dickens.

nota bene said:

From the Miami Herald:

A Broward County circuit judge delivered a blistering, arm-waving, face-palming, tongue-lashing to a frail, out-of-breath woman — pushed into court in a wheelchair — who was facing misdemeanor charges following a family feud.

Three days later, the defendant died.

Judge Merrillee Ehrlich has resigned, although it is unclear when that resignation was provided and when it becomes effective. Watch this judge brutally berate a woman in a wheelchair. The woman died. The judge has quit. | Miami Herald

Vid clip at the length is under 3 minutes, but there are longer clips available. I would like to hope that Judge Erhlich was just having a particularly bad day, but I don't. There was no need to be abusive, and watching a clip last night, I began to feel intimidated even though I was sitting safely in my own home. That poor woman in the wheelchair was trapped and I think, beyond a point, terrified.

One embarrassment to the bench now gone. Good.

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Read more here: Watch this judge brutally berate a woman in a wheelchair. The woman died. The judge has quit. | Miami Herald​

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It seems she did not get her medicines while in jail, which most likely did not help her survival and the absolute beastly behavior of this judge did also not help.

And guess what, during her 2008 campaign she stated about herself:

“I treat everybody with respect, understanding and patience,”

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:lamo

Really? Understanding, patience and respect, yes, that video had those qualities all through her interview with this sickly lady.

And when she took to the bench for the first time, she quickly decided to distinguish herself by adding a white, lace accent to her black robe, to give justice “a softer edge.

Wow, if that is a softer edge I do not know what she does to other defendants.

Also, it is ridiculous that a sick elderly woman has to sit in jail for several days without medication because she and her daughter argued and she got scratched her daughter. A daughter that must be feeling terribly because it is partly her fault that he mother was in there in the first place.

This case has nothing but losers, a just legal system would have sent her home the same day as the arrest, without any bond, just on personal recognizance to appear in front of a judge at a later date. Then she may still be alive today. The judge would not have lost her job in such an ignominious way.

Saw this on local news, how shameful. Give some authoritarian some bit of position, drunk with all the heady power of a grade school hall monitor. Local news carried another video of her berating another accused of something very petty.

Judge Merrilee Ehrlich Planned to Retire, But a Controversial Video Forced Her Out Sooner

ALM MediaApril 23, 2018
[caption id="attachment_18528" align="aligncenter" width="621"] Broward Circuit Judge Merrilee Ehrlich. Photo: Melanie Bell/ALM[/caption] A Broward Circuit judge on the eve of retirement has been told not to return to work in the wake of a viral video showing her denying a woman’s request for a breathing tube. "The chief Judge cannot remove a constitutional officer from office. Only the Florida Supreme Court can remove a judge," Chief Judge Jack Tuter wrote in the email sent to the Sun Sentinel and Daily Business Review Sunday. "In light of recent events we have decided Judge (Merrilee Ehrlich) will be told not to return to the courthouse as her retirement is effective June 30." [caption id="attachment_18510" align="alignleft" width="245"] Chief Judge Jack Tuter. Photo: J. Albert Diaz/ALM[/caption] Ehrlich found herself in the hot seat after video surfaced on social media of her interaction with Sandra Twiggs, a 59-year-old woman who suffered from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Twiggs died at home days after the April 15 court appearance, in which Ehrlich curtly denied her request for a breathing tube. Her cause of death has not been made public. News later broke that Ehrlich planned to retire this summer, more than two years before her term was set to expire in January 2021. The judge rose to public office after winning the November 2008 general election. She then ran unopposed in 2014 for a six-year term. Broward Circuit spokeswoman Meredith Bush said the judge's retirement plans preceded the video. She said Ehrlich announced in March that she would step down in June. “It had been planned,” Bush said Sunday. "She sent in her resignation letter to the governor a couple weeks ago." Gov. Rick Scott's office did not immediately respond to a request for a copy of the retirement letter. Twiggs appeared before the judge on April 15 via video from the North Broward Bureau, which houses inmates with special needs, according to its website. She faced misdemeanor domestic violence charges. She came before Ehrlich for a first appearance, or bond court, where judges hear cases within 48 hours of an inmate's arrest to determine if law enforcement officers had probable cause to jail them.


Ehrlich was in the courthouse while Twiggs communicated with her on camera. Broward Circuit Court livestreams and records bond court proceedings.
But a YouTube account under the name South Florida Corruption uploaded the video. It showed an exasperated Ehrlich yelling at Twiggs and interrupting her as the woman attempted to answer her questions.
Twiggs, who was in a wheelchair, rested her head against her hand at one point. She coughed repeatedly during the hearing.
"Can someone there give her water as a kindness?" Ehrlich asked jail staff after one of the coughing spells. When the judge asked Twiggs if she needed water, Twiggs replied she did, and also requested a breathing tube. But Ehrlich answered, "Ma'am, I'm not here to talk about your breathing treatment."
The judge also scolded attorneys in the courtroom, instructing them not to interrupt her.
"Oh lord!" Ehrlich said after Twiggs tried to ask for the breathing tube. "Will you say something, counsel, in the microphone so that she can hear you, and you can give her instructions about propriety in court? I'm not going to spend all day with her interrupting me."

Peter King said:

It seems she did not get her medicines while in jail, which most likely did not help her survival and the absolute beastly behavior of this judge did also not help.

Also, it is ridiculous that a sick elderly woman has to sit in jail for several days without medication because she and her daughter argued and she got scratched her daughter. A daughter that must be feeling terribly because it is partly her fault that he mother was in there in the first place.

This case has nothing but losers, a just legal system would have sent her home the same day as the arrest, without any bond, just on personal recognizance to appear in front of a judge at a later date. Then she may still be alive today. The judge would not have lost her job in such an ignominious way.

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Yes, shameful behavior from the bench, and I agree about the personal recognizance because she had no priors at all before the domestic dispute. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but from a practical point of view, letting the lady go home would have reduced the jail/court's liability.

I feel terribly sorry for the daughter. I've read that this was about a boyfriend. The judge was impatient when the wheelchair-bound lady was unable to give a simple "yes/no" to where the daughter lived because she apparently was shacking with the boyfriend part of the time. The judge became angry and wouldn't give her a chance to explain. That whole "I'm not here to talk about your breathing treatments" was just beyond.

nota bene said:

Yes, shameful behavior from the bench, and I agree about the personal recognizance because she had no priors at all before the domestic dispute. Hindsight is 20/20, of course, but from a practical point of view, letting the lady go home would have reduced the jail/court's liability.

I feel terribly sorry for the daughter. I've read that this was about a boyfriend. The judge was impatient when the wheelchair-bound lady was unable to give a simple "yes/no" to where the daughter lived because she apparently was shacking with the boyfriend part of the time. The judge became angry and wouldn't give her a chance to explain. That whole "I'm not here to talk about your breathing treatments" was just beyond.

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Yes, and totally unnecessary. The US should stop with the bond system for "lesser crimes and misdemeanors".

In the Netherlands people are only remanded in custody if there is still interrogation to take place and the crime suspected will lead to longer jail terms. For a misdemeanor like this someone would never be remanded in jail until a court date has been set. They would be sent home and at the time the court has a court date set, the suspect will receive a summons and that would be it.

Peter King said:

Yes, and totally unnecessary. The US should stop with the bond system for "lesser crimes and misdemeanors".

In the Netherlands people are only remanded in custody if there is still interrogation to take place and the crime suspected will lead to longer jail terms. For a misdemeanor like this someone would never be remanded in jail until a court date has been set. They would be sent home and at the time the court has a court date set, the suspect will receive a summons and that would be it.

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Perhaps one of the attorneys who posts here will come along and explain. I don't know whether this was a municipal policy or what. But it does seem to me that someone with no priors who's in a wheelchair and demonstrably has breathing problems would be better off being sent home.