 |
| Photo Credit: AP. |
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Attorneys for Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz asked for the judge in his murder case to remove herself on Friday, two days after she scolded them when they abruptly rested their case after calling only a fraction of their expected witnesses.
The Broward
Public Defender’s Office said in a motion that Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer
held a longstanding animosity toward lead defense lawyer Melisa McNeill.
The motion
cited Florida’s Judicial Code of Conduct that states a judge shall disqualify
himself or herself if the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned,
including but not limited to instances where the judge has a personal bias or
prejudice concerning a party or a party’s lawyer. Defense attorneys said
Scherer’s repeated improper and unjustified attacks on the defense counsel
undermine the public’s confidence in the judicial system and have also caused
Cruz to fear that he will not receive a fair trial.
Prosecutors
said in a response that Scherer has been respectful to both sides.
Cruz’s
attorneys had told the judge and prosecutors they would be calling 80 witnesses
but surprisingly rested at the start of Wednesday’s court session after calling
only about 25 of them.
There were
11 days of defense testimony overall, the last two spotlighting experts about
how his birth mother’s heavy use of alcohol during pregnancy might have
affected his brain’s development and led to his murdering 17 people at
Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School four years ago.
The sudden
announcement by lead attorney McNeill led to a heated exchange between her and
Scherer, who called the decision without warning to her or the prosecution “the
most uncalled for, unprofessional way to try a case.”
The
12-member jury and 10 alternates were not present but were lining up outside
the courtroom to enter. The sudden announcement also meant prosecutors weren’t
ready to start their rebuttal case.
Scherer then
accused Cruz’s attorneys of being inconsiderate to all involved, but especially
the jurors for wasting their trip to court.
Cruz, 23,
pleaded guilty last October to murdering 14 Stoneman Douglas students and three
staff members on Feb. 14, 2018. His trial, now ending its second month, is only
to determine whether he is to be sentenced to death or life without parole. For
a death sentence, the jury must be unanimous.
After his
attorneys rested, Cruz told Scherer he agreed with the decision.
Prosecutors
said they will need more than a week to prepare their rebuttal case. The trial is
now tentatively scheduled to resume Sept. 27 and conclude the week of Oct. 10.