FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was back in court Tuesday for a routine hearing in a case where little to date has been routine.
Cruz, 20, faces the death penalty for murdering 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14. Defense lawyers have all but conceded his guilt and have concentrated their efforts on avoiding the death penalty.
In previous hearings, Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer ordered both sides to begin the process of interviewing dozens of witnesses who may end up taking the stand in an eventual trial.
That process is well underway, though there's no indication how long it will take attorneys to interview the dozens of witnesses most relevant to the case. No trial date has been set.
Cruz arrived in Scherer's courtroom at 1 p.m. wearing a red jail jumpsuit and sporting a disheveled mane of reddish brown hair. He sat between Assistant Public Defenders Melisa McNeil and Diane Cuddihy, two of the attorneys who are representing him.
Also in the courtroom were Broward State Attorney Mike Satz, who intends to prosecute the case, and several of his key deputies, including chief assistant Jeff Marcus and Shari Tate, head of the homicide unit.
Scherer began Tuesday's hearing by reviewing numerous defense motions requesting information from prosecutors. The motions are typical of most trials and are not generating much argument _ prosecutors have either already turned over the information or are still in the process of gathering it, Scherer was told.
Scherer also put off ruling on a defense motion to restrict the information the Broward Sheriff's Office can provide about "observational reports" filed by detention deputies at the Broward Main Jail, where Cruz is being kept as he awaits trial.
Cuddihy argued that the Cruz's medical privacy rights should keep the reports secret because they touch on his mental health _ Cruz has been on suicide watch at the jail.
