The Parkland Shooting took place at Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018. The assailant, Nikolas Cruz, is on trial for killing seventeen members of the school. On Friday, November 4, 2022, the defense attorneys involved with the case complained about the conduct of the Judge presiding over the case. The attorneys claim that the Judge, Elizabeth Scherer, was “hostile and demeaning towards defense counsel,” and that “the conduct reveals temperament ill-suited to the criminal bench.” This comes in a letter from the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, sent to the 17th Judicial Circuit for Chief Judge Jack Tuter.
The trial, which was televised for the world to see, was a controversial event from the past week. On social media, there have been claims, gossip, and allegations of misconduct on behalf of both the presiding Jude, and the defense attorneys. Some claim that Judge Scherer was extreme and perhaps overly empathetic to the prosecution and the victims’ families. In addition, the defense attorneys representing Cruz are accused of misconduct, specifically one who can be seen flipping off either the camera or the judge, and then laughing about it with Cruz.
