Wheelchair user dies days after 'tyrannical' judge ignores request for breathing treatment

JudgeĀ Merrilee Ehrlich resigns from current post after outcry

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ā€“ Days after Broward County Circuit JudgeĀ Merrilee Ehrlich told an inmate her request for medical care wasĀ irrelevant, the woman diedĀ at home, relatives said Friday.

Ehrlich resigned late Friday from her current positionĀ after some in the legal community criticizedĀ the judge for her behavior that day.

Sandra FayeĀ Twiggs, a 59-year-old wheelchair user with a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, was arrested for domestic violence in Lauderhill April 13,Ā according to the arrest report. Her defense attorney believed itĀ was all a misunderstanding.Ā 

Twiggs' sister AnnaĀ Twiggs saw the video of the April 14Ā hearingĀ and was in tears. She said her sister didn't have a criminal record and theĀ experience affected her so much, she found her dead in bed WednesdayĀ morning.

"She said, 'They treated me so bad,' and she said, "All I wanted was some medical attention and some help,'" Anna TwiggsĀ said.Ā Ā 

Twiggs, who is 5 feet, 3 inches tall, was facing a misdemeanor charge when she appeared in front of EhrlichĀ Sunday via a live video feed from the North Broward Bureau. After watching the video, Broward County Public Defender Howard FinkelsteinĀ describedĀ Ehrlich's behavior in court that day as "aggressive and tyrannical."Ā 

"She raised her voice to many defendants, berated the attorneys and was impatient and exasperated during the proceedings," FinkelsteinĀ wroteĀ April 20.Ā 

Twiggs' sister Carolyn TwiggsĀ was also outraged and she had a question for Ehrlich:Ā  "To see a person begging you for help and trying to talk to you and you treat them like a dog, for what reason?"

Ehrlich did not appear interested in learning about how a frail Twiggs had ended up in a wheelchair and in jail.Ā WhenĀ Ehrlich said the domestic dispute was over a fan, Twiggs' defense attorney said the conflictĀ was more complicated than that.

TwiggsĀ had filed a restraining order against herĀ 19-year-old daughter Michelle Ballard's boyfriend. She and her sister disapproved of him and were trying to protect her. Ballard was living at her mom's home, but she had also been living with her aunt.Ā Ā 

As the defense attorney and EhrlichĀ discussed the case, TwiggsĀ began to cough and held her head.Ā Ehrlich ordered someone to get her water,Ā and when Twiggs tried to tell Ehrlich about her health care needs, Ehrlich shouted again.Ā 

"I am not here to talk about your breathing treatment ...Ā I am not going to spend all day with her interrupting me," Ehrlich said.Ā 

FinkelsteinĀ asked Chief Judge Jack TuterĀ toĀ remove Ehrlich from the bench,Ā and in a letter Friday he questioned her "lack of emotional fitness."Ā FinkelsteinĀ also described her treatment of Twiggs as "shocking and an embarrassment to Broward County."Ā 

Ehrlich was first elected in 2008. SheĀ has a website listing her education at Oxford, Boston and Nova universities, and her experience as a law lecturer, mentor, volunteer, drug counselor and prosecutor. She also mentions the attributes that she believes a judge should have: "Wise and sensible,Ā learned in the law and in life,Ā honorable and humble, a lover of the truth, justice and people, and most of all, courageous."Ā 

After watching the video, Carolyn Twiggs believes EhrlichĀ didn't display any of those attributes when she handled her sister'sĀ case. And even thoughĀ authorities areĀ acknowledging that her sister was mistreated, she believes it is too late.

Sandra Twiggs will never get the apology that she deserved.Ā 

WATCH THE VIDEO OF THE HEARING

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About the Authors:

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.

Jenise Fernandez joined the Local 10 News team in November 2014. She is thrilled to be back home reporting for the station she grew up watching. Jenise, who is from Miami and graduated from Florida International University, also interned at Local 10 while she was in college.