Out of Order: Judges Scuffle Over Fax Machine
Two Miami-area judges involved in a dispute over office equipment earlier this month were asked by the Dade County chief judge to leave the courthouse and have no further contact.
Police were summoned Oct. 7 to the chambers of Circuit Judge Maria Espinosa Dennis after someone reportedly hit a panic button, the Miami Herald reports. The paper labeled the ordeal “Fax-gate.”
The argument between Dennis and Circuit Judge David C. Miller stems from the use of a shared fax machine, which is located in Dennis’ chambers.
According to the Herald and a subsequent story in the Florida Daily Business Review, Miller became confrontational after Dennis told him the fax machine was out of order.
Dennis’ bailiff reportedly intervened before police arrived. Miller has denied hitting Dennis and said he merely squeezed past her to get into her office.
Now Dennis is pushing back. Her lawyer, ex-circuit court judge turned TV judge David Young told the Daily Business Review, “We’re urging the state attorney’s office to treat this as any other case. He battered her. He put his hands on her. An unlawful touching is what happened, and he should be treated like any other individual.”
Miller’s lawyer, Milton Hirsch, responded that Dennis is overreacting.
Miller’s office has since been moved to another floor of the courthouse.
