Broward County Circuit Judge Merrilee Ehrlich won't be returning to the bench after a tirade against a disabled woman who later died, according to the Miami Herald.
Ehrlich, who had planned on retiring at the end of June, faced a wheelchair-bound defendant
April 15 and berated the woman during a misdemeanor hearing, the newspaper said. Sandra Faye Twiggs, 59, suffered from asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also called COPD, the Herald wrote.
Twiggs was in court after clashing with her 19-year-old daughter, who suffered a scratch in the confrontation, the newspaper said.
"I'm not here to talk about your breathing treatment," Ehrlich scolded Twiggs, who attempted to tell the judge she needed the treatment because of her condition, WFOR-TV reported, before cutting the woman off again.
Ehrlich allowed Twiggs to be released without bond for the domestic violence charge, telling her that she would need to check in with a court office after her release. The television station noted.
"You have to arrange for someone to carry you if you cannot get there yourself," Ehrlich told Twiggs, per WFOR-TV. Twiggs died in her sleep a few days later at home, the television station wrote.
A video of the exchange brought condemnation on social media.
Anna Lee Twiggs said her sister was "devastated" by the judge's treatment, calling it "so cruel," according to WFOR-TV.
The Herald wrote that Broward' public defender Howard Finkelstein urged that Ehrlich be banned from the courtroom after the exchange. Chief Administrative Judge Jack Tuter agreed, according to WFOR-TV, saying that he would contact the Twiggs family to apologize.
"I am saddened and disappointed in the way Judge Ehrlich behaved on the video," Tuter said, per WFOR-TV. "Her behavior cannot be condoned."
Ehrlich, though, essentially banned herself Monday, sending an email to Chief Administrative Judge Jack Tuter Monday telling him that she has officially retired, according to the Herald.
"It has been a great honor, privilege and pleasure to serve in the Unified Family Division of the 17th Judicial Circuit, for the past 10 years," Ehrlich wrote in an email to Tuter, per the Herald. "I am sending you this email to formally notify you that I am rescheduling my 6/30/18 retirement to become effective immediately, at 5 p.m. today, Monday, April 23, 2018."
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