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.
There were 11 days of defense testimony overall, the last two spotlighting experts about how his birth mother'smight 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.to murdering 14 Stoneman Douglas students and three staff members on Feb. 14, 2018.
She wants her 15 mins, and a talk show