"Shouting match in court as Parkland gunman's defense abruptly rests"

[orleans]

Judge calls lawyer ‘unprofessional’ after only a fraction of 80 expected witnesses called in death penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz

Attorneys for the Florida school gunman Nikolas Cruz suddenly and surprisingly rested on Wednesday after calling only a fraction of their expected witnesses, leading to a shouting match after the judge accused them of lacking professionalism.

Attorneys for Cruz told the judge and prosecutors they would be calling 80 witnesses but rested after calling about 25.

There were 11 days of defense testimony, the last two spotlighting descriptions of how Cruz’s birth mother’s heavy use of alcohol during pregnancy might have affected his brain and led to his murder of 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland four years ago.

The sudden announcement by Cruz’s lead attorney, Melisa McNeill, led to a heated exchange with the judge, Elizabeth Scherer, who called the decision without warning to her or the prosecution “the most uncalled for, unprofessional way to try a case”.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/14/parkland-shooting-trial-gunman-nikolas-cruz-defense-rests

[hlthe2b]

1. Well, admittedly I oppose the DP, but I have to wonder at the judge's behavior toward the defense--

no matter how irritating/frustrating. Even outside legal experts appear to believe she overstepped, at from what I've seen discussed. If so, an appeal on grounds of bias and influencing the jury would seem inevitable if, by chance, a unanimous decision comes back.

I'm just glad-- for all involved-- that this is the penalty phase (Cruz pled guilty) and so this won't drag on and on indefinitely.

While I am admittedly anti-DP, I tend to believe Cruz may well have suffered from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome--along with other psychological issues. FAS runs on a spectrum and it was certainly true in the past that the less obvious and severe cases were not always diagnosed.

[Whiskeytide]

3. From the story at the link, it appears ...

… the dressing down was NOT in the presence of the jury.

The prosecution would have prepared for the cross examinations of a lot of witnesses needlessly, and the Court likely had scheduling issues and had made allowances for the additional witnesses. Family of the victims may have made scheduling arrangements (asking for time off from work, etc…). A lot of wasted time/work/planning looks to have been the issue.

I suppose it might be one thing if the lawyer explained to the judge that they had planned to call all these additional witnesses but decided they were not influencing the jury and that it would be best to end it early. But if they never really planned to call them and just listed them “in case”, the rebuke was probably deserved.

It didn’t help that this lawyer had apparently been disrespectful to the judge a number of times over the last 3 years.

[Bev54]

4. I watched it and no it was not in front of the jury, nor was it a shouting match.

The Judge did express her frustration and the defense attorney said the Judge disrespected her in front of her client and the Judge pointed out that this was not a game and that the defense attorney has been disrespecting the judge since the start of the trial and pointed out a few instances. It was a waste of a day to come into court and rest rather than let everyone know ahead of time, the prosecution was not ready for rebuttal because they were expecting at least another 40 witnesses.

[Chainfire]

2. The only test for the murderer should be if he knew what he was doing was wrong.

I do not favor the death penalty either, but if Florida remains steadfast in legal killing, there is no more suitable candidate. I would be happy if he gets life with no possibility of parole, but they don't ask me.

I have worked inside of Florida state prisons. They are not a place I would want to stay overnight, much less 50 or more years. Even without the isolation, horrible food, lack of decent medical care, despair and violence, the local state prison does not even have air conditioning, in our jungle like Summer weather the places are a living hell.

[orleans]

5. i only recently learned that some prisons do not have air conditioning

--i don't know what planet i've been living on but i just assumed it was a given--like medical care for prisoners (which i guess is fairly iffy too).

i was shocked to hear about no ac -- horrified actually. i think we need to make a federal law requiring ac for every prison. i know it might sound weird or dumb or over reaching, but ...