FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas mass shooting trial will be allowed to refer to potential jurors by name, a Broward County judge ruled Friday.
The decision rejects a defense request asking for the potential jurors deciding the fate of confessed Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school shooter Nickolas Cruz to be referred to by number and not by name. The request would have protected the jurors from having their names disclosed to the public and, by extension, the news media.
“What (the) defendant requests is not permitted,” Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer wrote in her decision. “Exemptions to the specific laws on public records cannot be created from thin air.”
