A Florida judge is facing criticism after she had an angry exchange with a frail inmate who was confined to a wheelchair in Broward County.
Circuit Court Judge Merrilee Ehrlich snapped at Sandra Twiggs, 59, as she explained her ailments and breathing treatments. Her family told CBS News that she suffered from COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
“Ma‘am, do you need water? Just nod your head,” Ehrlich said. When she responded, the judge shouted: “Ma’am, I’m not here to talk to you!”
“I need a breathing treatment,” Twiggs said. “Ma'am, I’m not here to talk to you about your breathing treatment,” Ehrlich said.
“I’m not here to talk about your breathing treatment,” Ehrlich told her. Then she just told her to listen.
“Ma'am, don’t even say yes. Just listen,” she said.
She allowed Twiggs to be released without bond for a domestic violence charge. “You have to arrange for someone to carry you if you cannot get there yourself,” Ehrlich said.
Twiggs “tried to tell us how they treated her, but she had anxiety, and every time she tried to talk about it, she couldn’t breathe,” Twiggs’ goddaughter, Carolyn Porter, was quoted as saying.
“When she came home from being in there she was never the same,” she said.
Broward Chief Administrative Judge Jack Tuter said Saturday, April 21, that the judge won’t return to the courthouse due to her conduct, saying that she’ll retire over the summer. She filed paperwork to retire a few weeks before the incident.
Tuter said he’ll apologize to Twiggs’ family.
“I am saddened and disappointed in the way Judge Ehrlich behaved on the video. Her behavior cannot be condoned,” he told CBS.
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