FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ The judge in the Parkland school shooting case is risking an appeal _ along with an emotionally draining retrial _ by insisting jury selection get underway in January, defense lawyers warned Wednesday.
Nikolas Cruz, 21, faces the death penalty if convicted of first degree murder in the Feb. 14, 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and while he has never denied his guilt, his lawyers say they are obliged by the law and the Constitution to do everything to argue for his life.
That includes representing him at trial, compelling prosecutors to prove his guilt, and trying to persuade at least one juror that Cruz's life is worth sparing.
Death penalty cases are typically complex and time consuming, but earlier this year Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer told lawyers to be ready for trial in January 2020. That tentative schedule became more official last week when Scherer set jury selection to begin Jan. 27.
"That is an unrealistic trial date," Assistant Public Defender Melisa McNeill told the judge Wednesday. Forcing the issue would introduce "reversible error" into the case, guaranteeing a retrial, she said.
"You have been on notice for a year," Scherer retorted. "I expect everybody to be working diligently on this case."
Prosecutors have long said they are ready to start the case whenever the judge gives the go-ahead, while the Broward Public Defender's Office has indicated they need more time to interview at least 100 witnesses that might be called to testify in the trial.
Assistant Public Defender Gordon Weekes said last week that the January start date is "politically motivated" and not in the interest of seeing justice is done. Scherer is up for reelection in 2020.
On Feb. 14, 2018, Cruz made his way onto the campus of his former high school with an AR-15 style rifle and gunned down 17 people, a day or so after making a video on his cellphone announcing his intention to kill even more. Another 17 people were injured in the shooting rampage.
The death penalty would apply if he were found guilty of first-degree murder in the deaths of any of the victims.
Through his lawyers, Cruz has said he would be willing to plead guilty if prosecutors would drop the death penalty as a potential sentence. But Broward State Attorney Mike Satz, who plans to try the case personally, has said the decision on punishment needs to be made by a jury, not the defendant.
Cruz did not attend Wednesday's hearing, which opened with a discussion over whether the defense plans to introduce a mental health defense on his behalf. Defense lawyers have not provided prosecutors with a witness list that would be required if such a defense would be offered, said prosecutor Joel Silvershein.
McNeill offered to provide prosecutors with a list of potential witnesses in the field of mental health, though the defense has not filed a notice of intent to plead insanity.
"We have not made a decision as to whether we will proceed with an insanity defense," she said.
Defense lawyers this week filed an appeal with the Florida Supreme Court asking for a review of Scherer's decision to make Cruz's jail visitor logs a public record.
Until the Supreme Court makes a decision, McNeill said, mental health experts will not interview the defendant.
