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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.