Public Defender Fights Judge: Removal, PTSD, and No Charges

On June 2, 2014, Brevard County Judge John C. Murphy challenged Assistant Public Defender Andrew Weinstock to a fight during a morning docket, then followed him into a hallway behind the bench where the two scuffled. The Florida Supreme Court removed Murphy from office in December 2015, calling the episode a “national spectacle” and an embarrassment to the state’s judicial system. No criminal charges were filed. This is the full story of the judge who challenged a public defender to a fight, from the words spoken on the bench to the ruling that ended his judicial career.¹

What Set Off the Confrontation

The incident unfolded in Courtroom 3C of the Brevard County Courthouse in Viera, Florida. Murphy was moving through cases when Weinstock, an attorney in the office of 18th Judicial Circuit Public Defender Blaise Trettis, declined to waive a client’s right to a speedy trial. Murphy later said Weinstock had “repeatedly refused to make any announcement to the court regarding the wishes of several clients — whether it be to proceed to trial, to enter a plea, or to waive the right to a speedy trial.”²

Weinstock refused to sit down when ordered, telling the judge: “I’m the public defender. I have a right to be here, and I have a right to stand and represent my clients.”³ Murphy’s reply escalated quickly. “You know if I had a rock, I would throw it at you right now. Stop pissing me off. Just sit down.” When Weinstock still did not comply, Murphy issued the line that ended his judicial career: “I said, sit down. If you want to fight, let’s go out back and I’ll just beat your ass.”¹

What Happened in the Hallway

Both men exited through a door behind the judge’s seat. What happened next became a matter of dispute. Trettis said Murphy grabbed Weinstock by the collar and punched him in the head.⁴ Weinstock said Murphy struck him twice in the face and tried to have him arrested, though no arrest followed.¹

Murphy told a different story. He said Weinstock was the aggressor, hitting him in the chest, and that he “only took defensive actions,” keeping both hands on Weinstock to force him off balance.² Deputy Byron Griffin, one of two bailiffs who intervened, testified that he saw the men with their hands on each other’s clothing but did not recall seeing or hearing punches. Deputy Cheryl Martinez reported the two “screaming at each other with two hands each on the other’s collar.”¹ The Judicial Qualifications Commission found “no clear and convincing evidence that Judge Murphy ever actually struck Weinstock.”⁵

Bailiffs pulled them apart within moments. Murphy returned to the bench. Weinstock did not.

What Murphy Did After Returning to the Bench

With Weinstock gone, several defendants on the docket had no lawyer. Rather than postpone the cases or arrange substitute counsel, Murphy handled eight matters involving unrepresented defendants, treating them as if they were representing themselves. In at least one instance, when a confused defendant asked where the public defender was, Murphy pressured the person to waive their speedy trial right so they could consult a lawyer later.² Murphy later said, “This is county court. It’s people’s court… They’re my people,” and eventually conceded that proceeding without new counsel was “clearly wrong.”¹

Weinstock’s Resignation

Murphy took a temporary leave and began anger management counseling, returning to the bench in July 2014.⁶ Weinstock resigned on July 7, 2014, effective immediately, citing his frustration that Trettis had not opposed Murphy’s return. Trettis publicly said he felt it would be “hypocritical to argue against giving the judge a second chance,” pointing out that defense attorneys routinely ask for second chances for their own clients when bad behavior is isolated.⁷

The Removal Decision

The Judicial Qualifications Commission recommended serious but survivable discipline: a public reprimand, a 120-day suspension without pay, a $50,000 fine plus costs, and continued mental health therapy. Those terms would have let Murphy return to the bench.¹

The Florida Supreme Court rejected that recommendation. In its December 17, 2015, opinion in Case No. SC14-1582, the court ordered Murphy’s removal effective January 15, 2016, finding violations of multiple canons of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct and Rule of Professional Conduct 4-1.1.²⁸¹

The PTSD Finding That Changed the Case

Murphy’s defense argued the fight was out of character and driven by extraordinary stress. Psychologist Dr. Ronsisvalle, who began treating Murphy four days after the incident, testified that a combination of fatigue, his father’s recent death, and the killing of a defendant outside the courthouse had put the judge in a “fight or flight” state in which his “frontal lobe was shut down, adrenaline and cortisol were pulsing, and his amygdala was activated, interfering with his judgment.” Ronsisvalle said Murphy had since developed coping skills and was not at risk of repeating the behavior.²

A separate evaluation by Dr. Scott Fairchild on June 23, 2014, found “no evidence of a diagnosable Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.” After the hearing panel had finished its work, Murphy submitted new documentation to the Supreme Court: a Department of Veterans Affairs determination assigning him a 30 percent disability rating based on PTSD from his combat deployment, with “occupational and social impairment” that decreased work efficiency during significant stress. The Supreme Court noted that the VA finding conflicted with the experts who had testified, and it weighed heavily against the prediction that another outburst would not occur.²

Murphy also submitted 45 letters of support, and the parties stipulated that five character witnesses would have testified to his good character and to Weinstock’s “reputation as difficult and unprofessional.”²

Why No Criminal Charges Were Filed

Despite the physical nature of the fight and Weinstock’s request that Murphy be arrested, no criminal charges were ever filed. No public record of a formal prosecutorial decision declining charges has surfaced, and no civil lawsuit by Weinstock against Murphy or Brevard County appears in the available record. The consequences for Murphy came entirely through the judicial discipline system, not the criminal courts.¹

Where Each Man Ended Up

Murphy kept his Florida Bar license after removal. As of 2026, he is listed as a member in good standing with no disciplinary history on his Bar profile and practices as “Of Counsel” with Murphy & Downs Law Offices in Ponte Vedra, Florida, handling criminal defense and estate planning.⁹¹⁰ Weinstock left the public defender’s office in July 2014, weeks after the fight, and has not been a prominent figure in subsequent public reporting on the case.

1
The Florida Bar. Court Removes Brevard County Judge Murphy
2
FindLaw. Inquiry Concerning a Judge, No. SC14-1582
3
ABA Journal. Judge Who Challenged Public Defender to Fistfight Is Removed From Bench
4
Florida Today. Judge, Lawyer Tussle in Brevard Courtroom
5
Courthouse News Service. Florida Judge Faces Suspension Over Fracas
6
U.S. News & World Report. Judge Who Told Attorney ‘I’ll Beat Your Ass’ Removed From Office
7
ABA Journal. Public Defender Punched by Judge Resigns in Protest of Jurist’s Return to Bench
8
Politico. High Court Removes Brevard County Judge Over Courtroom Outburst
9
The Florida Bar. Member Profile, John C. Murphy
10
Murphy & Downs Law Offices. John Murphy Attorney Profile