FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. –
Attorneys for Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz asked the judge in his murder case to disown herself on Friday, two days after she scolded them when they abruptly halted the case after call only a small portion of their expected witnesses.
The Broward Office of Public Defender said in a motion that Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer has a longstanding grudge against lead defense attorney Melisa McNeill.
Proposal to cite Florida’s Code of Judicial Conduct which states that a judge will disqualify himself if the judge can reasonably be questioned, including but not limited to cases where the judge is prejudiced or personal prejudice concerning a party or its attorney. Defense attorneys said Scherer’s repeated unwarranted and unwarranted attacks on defense attorneys undermined public confidence in the justice system and also caused Cruz to fear that I will not get a fair trial.
Prosecutors said in a response that Scherer respects both sides.
Cruz’s attorneys told the judge and prosecutors they would call 80 witnesses but surprisingly they took a break at the start of Wednesday’s trial after calling only about 25 of them.
11 days in total, two experts finally highlight how his birth mother’s heavy use of alcohol during pregnancy can affect his brain development, and resulted in him murdering 17 people at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School four years ago.
McNeill’s sudden announcement led to a heated exchange between her and Scherer, who called the decision without warning her or the prosecution an “unprofessional way of handling the case.” and the most unprofessional.”
The trial panel of 12 members and 10 alternates were not present but lined up outside the courtroom to get in. The sudden announcement also means that prosecutors are not ready to begin their dismissal.
Scherer then accused Cruz’s lawyers of not caring about all involved, especially jurors, of wasting their trip to court.
Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty last October to the murder of 14 Stoneman Douglas students and three staff members on February 14, 2018. His trial, which has now ended in a second month, only to determine if he will be sentenced to death or life without parole. . For the death penalty, the trial panel must be unanimous.
After the lawyers took a break, Cruz told Scherer that he agreed with the decision.
Prosecutors said they would need more than a week to prepare the rebuttal. The trial is now scheduled to continue on September 27 and end the week of October 10.
