Judge Removed After Berating Ill Inmate Who Died Days Later

BROWARD COUNTY, FL — A South Florida judge will not be returning to court after she berated a chronically ill defendant for talking about her illness and repeatedly raised her voice at the frail woman as she attempted to answer questions. The defendant, 59-year-old Sandra Twiggs, who suffered from chronic lung disease and asthma, later died at her home.

Judge Merrilee Ehrlich had planned to retire June 30 and she will be told not to return to the courthouse, Broward Chief Administrative Judge Jack Tuter told The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. In the hearing, Twiggs appeared via live video feed from jail on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge. The charge was involving her daughter, who had called the police during a dispute.

Bond court hearings are streamed live and the hearing involving Twiggs was posted by a YouTube channel called South Florida Corruption, the Sun-Sentinel noted. The video shows Twiggs being wheeled in to appear before the judge.

"I've read the probable cause affidavit," Ehrlich says at the beginning.

"Yes ma'am," Twiggs replies.

"You don't have to respond to each thing but thank you," Ehrlich says.

Ehrlich then asks her courtroom if Twiggs has had any prior convictions, to which Twiggs replies "none."

Ehrlich then lets the woman know she is addressing the courtroom and will let her know if she is addressing her specifically.

Twiggs can then be heard coughing while Ehrlich talks with the courtroom, prompting the judge to ask, "you okay ma'am?" Twiggs explains that she has asthma.

While Ehrlich appears to be speaking to a public defender, Twiggs raises her hand to answer a question and Ehrlich says to her, "Excuse me, don't tell me."

After answering a question from Ehrlich, Twiggs attempts to further explain her answer, at which point Ehrlich appears to lose her temper and says, "Excuse me, don't say anything beyond what I'm asking you."

When Ehrlich asks her another question, Twiggs begins to cough and Ehrlich, again losing her temper, says, "can someone there give her water as a kindness?" As Twiggs continues to cough, she places her hand on her head and Ehrlich asks her if she needs water.

"Yes," Twiggs replies. "And my breathing treatment."

"Ma'am, I am not here to talk to you about your breathing treatment," Ehrlich says.

The judge allowed for Twiggs to be released without bond on Sunday and explained to her the conditions of her release. Twiggs died in her sleep on Wednesday, two days after her court appearance, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Broward County Public Defender Howard Finkelstein wrote a letter to the chief judge asking that Ehrlich be removed, according to WSVN. Finkelstein wrote in his letter that Ehrlich's behavior was "aggressive and tyrannical."

According to the Sun-Sentinel, Twiggs' daughter has been despondent since seeing the video. Twiggs' goddaughter, Carolyn Porter, told the Sun-Sentinel that Twiggs tried to tell her family about how she was treated in court but every time she tried to talk about it, she had anxiety and couldn't breathe.

Twiggs' family has started a GoFundMe account to help pay for her funeral expenses.

A voicemail left at Ehrlich's court listed phone number was not immediately returned.

You can watch the hearing below:

Photo via Seventeeth Judicial Circuit of Florida

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