FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The president of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers sent a letter Thursday to Broward County Chief Judge Jack Tuter disapproving of Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer’s treatment of the Parkland school shooter’s defense.
Ernest L. Chang signed the letter saying that as representatives of the Criminal Defense Bar, they were dismayed at Scherer’s “hostile and demeaning treatment” of Public Defender Gordon Weekes and his assistants during the sentencing hearing on Tuesday.
“The image of a judge relegating an elected public defender and his top assistant to sit in the corner like misbehaving children is offensive and discounts their very vital and difficult role in this system,” Chang wrote.
In the letter, Chang accused some of the grieving families of the victims of the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School of delivering “thinly veiled threats” during the sentencing hearing and Scherer asked that these be ignored.
“The Parkland sentencing was a dramatic and painful, yet critical, exhibition of our criminal justice system,” Chang wrote. “Defense attorneys vigorously represented their client knowing how reprehensible his actions were and how appalling most people found him.”
Related story: Video shows heated exchange between judge, Parkland shooter’s defense
Chang accused Scherer of not upholding “Canon 1 of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct,” which declares that she should have enforced “high standards of conduct.” He also urged Tute to “address this” and “ensure” that Scherer will not be “in a position to prejudice” cases.
The Florida Bar is investigating one of Weekes’s assistants: Broward Assistant Public Defender Tamara Curtis, who defended Nikolas Cruz. According to attorney Jennifer Krell Davis, a spokeswoman for The Florida Bar, the investigation was ongoing Thursday. Davis did not specify the subject of the investigation.
Curtis wasn’t in court on Wednesday when Scherer sentenced Cruz to 34 consecutive mandatory life sentences in prison without the possibility of parole and remanded him to the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections.
The families of the victims got the last word during a two-day sentencing hearing that allowed them to express themselves with symbolic colors, the photographs of their loved ones on jewelry and signs — and from behind a podium.
Related story: Fred Guttenberg demands public defender’s resignation over remarks during hearing
An emotionless Cruz sat with a group of Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies behind him. He was next to Casey Secor, his capital defense attorney, and most of the members of the public defense team that fought to save his life and managed to convince three of the 12 jurors to do the same.
Some of the victims’ parents used their time behind the podium to condemn the defense’s effort to “humanize” “a monster,” “a murderous bastard,” and “an animal” and accused them of “putting up a show” to “manipulate” the jurors. T
“When these people are upset about specific things that have gone on from that table like shooting the middle finger up at this court and laughing and joking ... When these people have sat in this courtroom and watched this behavior from that table and they want to say that they are not happy about it, what is the problem?” Scherer told the defense.
“When these people are upset about specific things that have gone on from that table like shooting the middle finger up at this court and laughing and joking ... When these people have sat in this courtroom and watched this behavior from that table and they want to say that they are not happy about it, what is the problem?” Scherer told the defense.
The grieving parents who criticized the defense didn’t name Curtis, but some mentioned and responded to The Law & Crime Network’s live stream feed on July 12 that showed her raising the middle finger and rubbing it against her cheek before she and Cruz laughed. Her gesture during recess followed a discussion about a camera in the courtroom that focused on the defense.
Chief Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill disagreed with Scherer.
“I did my job, and every member of this team did our job, and we should not personally be attacked for that,” McNeill told Scherer.
After the sentencing hearing ended, Scherer hugged the prosecutors. She also spent time with some of the victims’ parents, some of whom had decided not to speak during the sentencing hearing, and she also hugged some of the ones who expressed their gratitude for how she had handled the case.
Read the letter
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