The judge hearing the sentencing of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz has lambasted the defence and prosecution for their conduct, saying they have turned her courtroom into a “playground”.
Florida Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer laid out rules of conduct in the courtroom for the lawyers on both sides in scathing remarks made on Thursday morning as she dismissed the defence’s request for a mistrial in the penalty phase.
The mistrial request was put to her after she allowed the introduction of Cruz’s drawings, including swastikas, as evidence in the case.
Prior to officially filing the motion, the defence urged the judge to reconsider her ruling, claiming they were forced to introduce inflammatory, prejudicial evidence against their client.
Calling Cruz an equal opportunity killer who shot his victims without regard to race or religion, the defence attorneys told the court outside of the jury’s presence that the Nazi symbol creates strong anger and revulsion.
They argued that allowing the panel to see his drawings would prejudice the case against him because there is no evidence that his killing of 17 people at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High was driven by bigotry. Those killed and the 17 wounded included white, Black, Hispanic and Asian people, Christians and Jews, said the defence.
Before Judge Scherer dismissed the motion for mistrial, members of the defence and prosecution teams began to squabble, forcing her to instruct them not to talk to each other.
“This whole situation here has become unprofessional, to say the least,” she said. “When I say court is back in session, every lawyer should be in their seats and paying attention.
“The fact that I have to ask multiple times whether one particular side is ready and no one is hearing me because you are talking to each other, is rude. It’s rude and it’s unacceptable. Everybody needs to be in their seat, everybody needs to be quiet.”
She said the lawyers can message each other through their computers and pass notes, but constant movement between them disrupted proceedings.
“It’s gotta stop. This is a courtroom, it needs to run like a courtroom. It has become somewhat of a playground,” she said.
“There should be no shouting out, this needs to be quiet as a library,” the judge said, directing everyone to “stop talking”.
“I don’t need any further rude or disrespectful behaviour. It’s gotten quite out of control. Please do not move about this courtroom without asking permission.”
Last October, Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder over the 2018 Valentine’s Day killings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Jurors will now decide whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Prosecutors spent three weeks detailing how Cruz murdered 17 students and staff members and wounded 17 more, with jurors hearing from grieving family members and touring the school site.
Now, Cruz’s defence is presenting its case, seeking to show that his actions that day were the culmination of his life up to that point – from him being exposed to drugs and alcohol in the womb through his birth mother, to behavioural and psychological issues from an early age and the deaths of both of his adoptive parents.
