MICHAEL MUSKAL contact the reporter
Video: A Brevard County judge is accused of grabbing a public defender and slapping him after a disagreement Monday, and the audio of the scuffle was captured.
Trial by combat was de rigueur in Germany around the Middle Ages, but legal fisticuffs seem to be making a comeback in modern-day Florida.
Brevard County Judge John Murphy apparently went one-on-one with a public defender Monday after the pair exchanged words over whether a client should get a speedy trial date.
On Tuesday, Murphy took a leave of absence and agreed to "seek anger management counseling and treatment," Chief Judge John M. Harris said in a statement. All Murphy's cases were reassigned to other judges.
Trial by combat was de rigueur in Germany around the Middle Ages, but legal fisticuffs seem to be making a comeback in modern-day Florida.
Brevard County Judge John Murphy apparently went one-on-one with a public defender Monday after the pair exchanged words over whether a client should get a speedy trial date.
On Tuesday, Murphy took a leave of absence and agreed to "seek anger management counseling and treatment," Chief Judge John M. Harris said in a statement. All Murphy's cases were reassigned to other judges.
Trial by combat involves disputants fighting it out in single -- sometimes mortal -- combat. The winner was judged to have been in the right. The rule of law, with codified trial procedures, was considered a major step forward from the notion that that might makes right.
The confrontation between Judge Murphy and public defender Andrew Weinstock was caught on an official video of the court. The incident was posted on a variety of local media websites and on YouTube.
The pair were arguing about whether Weinstock’s client would waive his right to a speedy trial. Murphy appears to be trying to get the defender to waive, but the defense lawyer was not having any of it, according to the video.
“You know, if I had a rock, I would throw it at you right now,” Murphy tells Weinstock. “Stop pissing me off. Just sit down.”
“You know I'm the public defender. I have a right to be here and I have a right to stand and represent my client,” Weinstock says in the video.
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