MIAMI — Court hearings for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz will remain open to the public before his trial, a Broward judge ruled on Tuesday.
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer ruled one week after his defense team requested the hearings be closed to the public and media, arguing more publicity could taint future jurors and derail a fair and impartial trial for Cruz. The Broward Public Defender’s Office made the request even though its own expert, a jury consultant who studies the effects of publicity on trials, did not recommend closing all hearings.
Cruz, 22, is facing the death penalty on accusations he murdered 17 people and wounded 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High on Feb. 14, 2018. Cruz wielded an assault-style rifle to gun down students and staff members in what remains Florida’s deadliest school shooting.
In the past, the Broward Public Defender’s Office has said Cruz would immediately plead guilty in exchange for life in prison. The Broward State Attorney’s Office, under longtime top prosecutor Mike Satz, has pressed ahead in seeking death, as has Harold Pryor, who was elected to the post last year.
The Miami Herald, along with news outlets such as The Associated Press, CNN and The New York Times, objected to the move to close the courtrooms. Attorney Deanna Shullman, who represents several TV networks such as ABC and CNN, said during last weekend’s hearing that the media is crucial to ensuring the public knows that lawyers are doing their jobs.
“Everybody thinks that access is about our ability to look at what the defendant did or a right to look at the evidence of his crimes,” Shullman said. “This is not at all what this is about. It is about the public’s right to oversee all the players in this process.”
