In her own words, Broward Circuit Judge Merrilee Ehrlich has “always been a bit of a square peg for a round hole.”

That might explain the lace collar on her black judicial robe, how she became the first woman criminal defense lawyer to open a private practice in Broward County, and the reputation she’s built as a judge willing to do what she can to reach the youths who come before her in juvenile delinquency court.