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The ongoing trial against school scavenger from Parkland Nicholas Cruz faced a complicated situation in court on Monday, which ended with a request by the defense attorney to be disqualified from the case.
On Monday, chief defense attorney Melissa McNeill suggested that Broward County Judge Elizabeth Scherer resign amid a dispute over the ongoing jury selection process, court documents show.
Judge Elizabeth Scherer speaks during the criminal phase of the trial of Nicholas Cruz in the Broward County Court in Fort Lauderdale on Monday, June 6, 2022 (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Although Cruz has pleaded guilty to all 17 counts of premeditated murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in the shooting of his classmates and teachers at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, the trial has not yet completed the jury selection process.
The dispute in the courtroom in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, began when a member of the defense team, attorney Casey Secor, was out of the courtroom with an unspecified illness. His team said he was “quarantined”, WPLG reported.
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The judge wanted the court to continue to ask potential jurors their views on the death penalty, which could potentially disqualify them from the jury, but the defense team did not want to continue the trial without Sekor in the courtroom.
Sekor was specially hired to help with the jury’s selection process, and he is the only other member of the defense team to have experience in death penalty cases, according to the report.
Assistant Public Defender Melissa McNeill speaks at the Broward County Court in Fort Lauderdale on Monday, June 6, 2022 (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Instead of continuing, the defense team asked Scherer if the court could spend Monday questioning jurors about common difficulties.
The judge refused.
“It’s not comfortable for me to move on without him, Judge,” McNeill said, according to the WPLG.
“Well, you will have to,” Scherer said in response, according to the report. “Your client has the right to have a confident lawyer. Your client does not have the right to have every lawyer.”
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McNeill told the judge she was faced with a decision not to obey the court or move on without her entire team, and offered to withdraw the defense team altogether.
“Judge, at this point the defense will withdraw from the Florida state case against Nicholas Cruz,” McNeill said, according to WPLG. “At the moment, if I do not comply with the court’s order and defend Mr Cruz’s constitutional rights to due process, I must now assess whether my freedom will be threatened or Mr Cruz’s freedom will be in jeopardy.”
The lawyer also claims that not providing the best possible services to her client could affect her own career.
“I will also have to consider whether or not my license may be affected, which will affect my ability to raise my children, feed my children and educate my children,” McNeill added.
According to the report, Judge Scherer “respectfully” rejected the request and closed the court.
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Upon his return, prosecutor Carolyn McCann asked the judge if they could question potential jurors about the difficulties – not their views on the death penalty – as they only had a few hours left during the day. Scherer agreed, despite pressure to move the court earlier in the day.
McNeill then entered the courtroom with a “request for recusal” against Judge Scherer, asking her to withdraw from the case, court documents show.
The judge also rejected this request.
Marjorie Stoneman High School shooter Douglas Nicholas Cruz listens to Melissa McNeill in the Broward County Court in Fort Lauderdale on Monday, June 6, 2022 (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
According to the report, the defense team was also concerned that recent shooting incidents, including the shooting at a school in Uwalde, Texas, could affect the jury’s opinion on the case and wanted an extra day to question jurors’ impartiality.
“Continue this process for a reasonable period of time to allow the wave of emotion surrounding the recent mass shootings to subside so that Mr Cruz can be tried by a jury without bias and prejudice against him for events other than significance for his crime, his origin, his character or his life, “the WPLG request said.
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The shooting at Rob Elementary School “opened old wounds for the Broward County community and raised concerns for Broward students and parents,” the defense added.
Parkland School Rifleman Nicholas Cruz sat at the defense table before pleading guilty on October 15, 2021, in Broward County Court, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (Amy Beth Bennett / South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Judge Scherer reportedly hopes to have 150 potential jurors for the next phase of questioning, although only 35 have advanced. About 95 were rejected.
The trial is set to resume on Tuesday, June 7.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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