Monday 16 May 2022 09:16 PM Nikolas Cruz's jury selection resumes as its revealed judge was assigned by ... trends now
The judge presiding over the death penalty trial of Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz who gunned down 17 people in 2018 was assigned the case despite never having overseen a major trial or one with so much publicity.
Jury selection resumed Monday more than a month after a potential juror was asked to be dismissed from the trial because of obligations to her 'sugar daddy.'
The process grew even more complicated when Judge Elizabeth Scherer dismissed an entire pool of potential jurors last month after eight of them were led out of the courtroom in tears after the confessed school shooter walked in the room.
Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to murdering 14 students and three adults at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018.
The judge's assignment to Cruz' case was selected randomly by a computer program that didn't consider experience or the fact that no U.S. mass shooting of this magnitude had ever made it to court. This random selection process is used throughout much of Florida.
Now, every move Scherer makes is being scrutinized, at least partly, through the lens of how she was assigned and her inexperience - particularly compared to the case's seasoned prosecutors and defense attorneys.
Nikolas Cruz, 23, pleaded guilty in October to murdering 14 students and three adults at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018.
Judge Elizabeth Scherer was assigned the case despite never having overseen a major trial
Cruz is shown at the defense table during jury selection in the penalty phase of his trial at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Monday
Cruz looks up as one of his lawyers, capital defense attorney Casey Secor, makes an argument in court during jury selection on Monday
Overseeing the Cruz trial would be stressful for the most-battle hardened jurist; serious errors that harm Cruz's case could get a death sentence reversed on appeal. That would likely mean a retrial years from now, which would reopen the families' and community's emotional scars.
For Scherer - a 45-year-old judge who was appointed to the bench in 2012 after serving as a mid-tier prosecutor in Broward County - it will likely be even more difficult. Scherer has never experienced the spotlight of a capital case.
Scherer, a registered Republican who lives in Broward County, has been on the case since 2019, when Cruz was charged.
She sparred with his attorneys during proceedings, labeling them 'disrespectful' at times.
In 2018, she threatened to restrict reporting of the case after a local newspaper published information about Cruz that was not intended to be part of the public record.
Fort Lauderdale attorneys told The Sun Sentinel at the time that she had a reputation for showing up late to court and for being 'testy' and 'cranky.'
Scherer is a mother, wife and avid horse rider who, according to social media profiles, belonged at one time to the Stanford Equestrian team.
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Judge Scherer, a registered Republican who lives in Broward County, has been on the case since 2019, when Cruz was charged
Cruz, above in his booking photo, was a 19-year-old expelled student with a history of mental health and behavioral issues at the time of the killings
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys said she seriously erred last month when she dismissed 11 potential jurors before letting the lawyers question them.
Just before the dismissal, a potential juror asked to be dismissed herself from the trial because of obligations to her 'sugar daddy.'
The married woman, identified only as Ms. Bristol, became a viral sensation after giving her scandalous reason for not wanting to be part of the months-long trial.
'Well I am married and I have my sugar daddy. I see him every day,' she explained to Judge Scherer.
Scherer appeared confused but later dismissed the woman.
'It's all day for six months and what's my hardship? I need my sugar daddy money,' she told WPLG, adding that he provides her with about $8,000 a month.
The native New Yorker says she could lose her house if she doesn't see him.
'If I do this case for six months, I have a hardship that means my sugar daddy can’t support me,' she explained, though the case is only expected to stretch from June to September.
The 12-member jury that is eventually chosen will decide whether aggravating factors such as the number of victims and Cruz's planning and cruelty outweigh such mitigating factors as his lifelong mental and emotional problems, his possible sexual abuse and his parents' deaths.
The trial is expected to last through the summer.
Ms. Bristol says she asked to be dismissed from the sentencing of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz
