MIAMI — A former judge from Broward County has publicly expressed her strong disapproval of the public defenders who represented Nikolas Cruz during his trial for the tragic 2018 Parkland high school shooting. In a presentation given to law students at Florida International University on Thursday, Elizabeth Scherer asserted that the defense team acted unprofessionally and stepped beyond acceptable boundaries throughout the proceedings.
Scherer presided over Cruz’s 2022 trial, which was centered around the horrific event that resulted in the deaths of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018. She described how, despite having a friendly rapport with Cruz’s lead attorney Melisa McNeill prior to the case, their relationship deteriorated significantly during the extensive legal battle, which included four years of pretrial motions, three months of jury selection, and a subsequent three-month trial. Scherer recalled that the defense team seemed to have “lost their perspective” as the case progressed.
During her remarks, Scherer highlighted various instances of behavior from the defense that she found unacceptable. She noted that attorneys were observed chatting, passing notes, and even tending to personal grooming while prosecution witnesses were on the stand. In one notable moment, an attorney allegedly flashed an obscene gesture at a camera that was broadcasting the trial live, a move that Cruz’s team claimed violated their privacy rights. “This consumed them to a point where they started doing things and acting in ways that I had never seen before from any defense attorney,” Scherer remarked.
In June 2023, Scherer resigned from her judicial position, eight months after having sentenced Cruz to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It is important to note that Florida law mandated a unanimous jury vote for the death penalty, which was not met in Cruz’s case, as the jury was split 9-3. Following this, Florida lawmakers modified the law to permit a death sentence if a minimum of eight jurors were in favor. Cruz, now 26, had previously pleaded guilty to the murders in 2021 and is currently serving his sentence in an undisclosed facility.
The public defender for Broward County, Gordon Weekes, chose not to respond to Scherer’s criticisms regarding McNeill and her team. Post-trial, the state’s Judicial Qualifications Commission investigated Scherer and found that she had violated several judicial conduct rules, which included allowing the families of victims to make emotional remarks directed at the defense attorneys. The 15-member commission, made up of judges, lawyers, and civilians, concluded that Scherer occasionally allowed her emotions to cloud her judgment.
Additionally, Scherer faced backlash for embracing prosecutors and the families of victims after the conclusion of the trial. She later revealed that she had also wished to hug McNeill and her associates, but they declined the offer. In its report to the Florida Supreme Court, the commission emphasized that Scherer occasionally let her feelings interfere with her judicial responsibilities. As a result, the Supreme Court reprimanded her and reassigned her from another murder case due to the connection with one of the prosecutors involved.
A former prosecutor herself, Scherer maintained to students that she generally feels she managed the trial effectively despite some regrets about her emotional expressions. She argued that none of the commission’s members had dealt with a case of such magnitude. “Not one person on that commission has ever tried a case like this,” she said. Scherer expressed her sorrow over the commission’s finding, saying she wished the hugging had not been deemed inappropriate.
Scherer announced her resignation shortly before the commission reported its findings but clarified that her decision was not influenced by the investigation. She stated that she had informed her senior judge back in 2018 of her intention to see the Cruz case through and then explore other, better-paying career opportunities. Currently, Scherer is a partner at her father’s civil law firm and is launching a podcast focused on legal affairs. Additionally, she is in discussions to develop a television show reminiscent of “Judge Judy.”
Reflecting on the morning after the shooting, Scherer revealed that she had an intuitive feeling she would be assigned the case, which indeed came to pass later that day. Despite criticism regarding her level of experience—the trial being her first death penalty case—Scherer defended her qualifications, stating that no other judges overseeing criminal cases in Broward County at the time had presided over a death penalty trial either. When she took on the case, she had nearly six years of judicial experience.
Scherer remarked on the emotional challenges she faced throughout the trial, particularly during the victim impact statements, expressing her determination to maintain composure: “The men judges don’t cry. This female judge was not going to cry.” Regarding Cruz himself, she stated her belief that he is a “sociopath” devoid of any remorse for his actions, underscoring, “Not one single bit.”