Judge accused of smashing windshield with pipe presided in criminal court while warrant was pending
A Florida circuit judge accused of smashing the windshield of a youth’s truck with a metal pipe briefly remained on the bench in criminal court while a warrant was pending for her arrest.
The Miami-Dade judge, Victoria Brennan, was accused of breaking the windshield while trying to get her son’s drunken friends to leave her Key Largo home, the Miami Herald reports.
Though the Monroe County prosecutors verbally approved the arrest warrant, it was not entered into the clerk of court’s system, according to the newspaper.
The truck owner agreed to drop a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief after Brennan paid restitution. Prosecutors in Monroe County have recused themselves from the case, which is now being reviewed by prosecutors in Lee County. Brennan is currently on leave.
“Even if the case dissolves,” the Miami Herald reports, “Brennan could still face scrutiny over whether she properly disclosed to superiors and defendants that she was facing a criminal case while ruling on criminal cases.”
Brennan’s lawyer declined to comment when contacted by the Miami Herald.
