Broward Circuit Judge Merrilee Ehrlich found herself in the hot seat after courtroom video surfaced of her berating Sandra Twiggs, a 59-year-old woman who with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma.

Twiggs died days after the April 15 court appearance when the judge curtly denied her request for medical aid. Her cause of death was not released by deadline.

In a letter to Chief Circuit Judge Jack Tuter, Broward Public Defender Howard Finkelstein described Ehrlich's behavior as “aggressive and tyrannical.”

“As Ms. Twiggs continued to cough, Judge Ehrlich repeatedly berated her,” Finkelstein wrote.

Ehlrich was set to retire June 30, but Tuter told her not to return to court.

Twiggs appeared before Ehrlich via a video hookup from the Broward sheriff's North Broward Bureau, which houses mentally ill and other inmates with special needs, according to its website. She faced misdemeanor domestic violence charges.

Twiggs was in a wheelchair and coughed repeatedly during the hearing.

“Can someone there give her water as a kindness?” Ehrlich asked jail staff after one of the coughing spells.

The judge then asked Twiggs if she needed water. Twiggs said she did and also requested a breathing tube.

“Ma'am, I'm not here to talk about your breathing treatment,” the judge answered.

Ehrlich seemed exasperated throughout the hearing. At one point, the judge told the woman's attorney, “I am not going to spend all day with her interrupting me.”

Watch the video: