FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A defense attorney accused of having sex with an inmate in an interview room at the main Broward County jail will be allowed to meet with her client, albeit from behind a window, a judge ruled Monday.
Jessica David, 35, of Hollywood, and her client, Ysreal Granda, 26, of Opa-locka, were "engaged in what appeared to be sexual intercourse" when a jail deputy walked in on them Wednesday afternoon, according to a Broward Sheriff's Office incident report.
A BSO memorandum said David has since been "prohibited from entering any Broward Sheriff's Office facility or onto any BSO property for any reason, either personal or professional, until further notice."
David, who practices using her maiden name Mishali, spoke at an emergency hearing in Broward County court. She argued that she needs meaningful contact with her client to share paperwork in preparation for his trial.
The judge asked if Granda still wants to keep David and said he needs to know that there could be a conflict of interest.
"That's who I want," Granda said in court. "If there's any conflict, I'm waiving them."
David was ultimately granted a request to visit Granda, but she will have to do so from behind a jail window.
"This is a very convenient time for something like this to be all over the media, and I mean, convenient for the state," David told Local 10 News reporter Andrew Perez after the hearing.
David said she is fighting for her client's rights.
"That's why he hired me," she said. "That's why he chooses to keep me as his attorney."
According to the report, David "was bent over at the waist with her skirt raised" while Granda's body "was pressed firmly" against David's buttocks with his hands around her.
As soon as the deputy walked in, the report said, Granda quickly sat in the chair that was behind him and David immediately stood up, "causing her skirt to fall back into position covering her thighs."
David was ordered to leave the room and sit in the waiting area while Granda was escorted back to his cell.
Detectives from the BSO special victims unit interviewed David, but she was not arrested.
David denies the allegations.
"I would imagine that this would be temporary, because there's absolutely no reason for it to begin with," David said.
David was admitted to the Florida Bar in 2007, online records indicate. She is in good standing with the Florida Bar and has never been disciplined.
Granda is in jail on multiple charges, including attempted murder.
"What do you want to say about the allegations in general?" Perez asked.
"Absolutely nothing," David said.