Judge publicly reprimanded for berating domestic violence victim

Controversial domestic violence case lands judge in national spotlight

SANFORD, Fla. – The Seminole County judge whose actions in a domestic violence case that landed her in the national spotlight last year received her punishment on Wednesday.

[RAW VIDEO:  Judge sends victim to jail for not appearing in court]

According to court documents, Eighteenth Judicial Circuit Judge Jerri Collins will be publicly reprimanded in the case where courtroom cameras caught her berating the alleged domestic abuse victim after she failed to show up to testify against her husband.

"Judge Collins has accepted responsibility for her behavior and is mindful that while her actions may have been lawful, the manner in which she carried out her judicial duties placed the judiciary in a negative light," the Judicial Qualifications Commission wrote. 

The domestic violence victim claimed Myles Brennan threatened her and their one-year-old child with a kitchen knife in April.

Collins held a special hearing in July to ask the woman why she failed testify.

The woman told Collins she had been suffering from depression and anxiety since the attack and since divorce proceedings began.

Collins challenged the woman's account of what happened, at times yelling her questions at her.

The judge found the woman in contempt of court and sent her to jail for three days.

The video of Collins' interaction with the woman made national headlines, and it also prompted a complaint to be filed with the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission.


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