Judge Scherer Publicly Reprimanded for Violating Rules During Parkland School Shooter Penalty Trial

A state commission has ruled that the Florida judge who oversaw the penalty trial of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz should be publicly reprimanded. The Judicial Qualifications Commission found that Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer violated several rules governing judicial conduct during the trial.

The commission concluded that Judge Scherer showed bias toward the prosecution, failed to curtail “vitriolic statements” directed at Cruz’s attorneys by the victims’ families and sometimes allowed “her emotions to overcome her judgement.” The six-month trial ended with Cruz receiving a life sentence for the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that killed 17 people.

The commission’s report said that Judge Scherer “failed to maintain the high standard of conduct expected of a judicial officer” and “failed to remain impartial and detached.” It also found that she “failed to be patient, dignified and courteous” to the attorneys and “failed to maintain order and decorum in the courtroom.”

The commission recommended that Judge Scherer be publicly reprimanded and that she be required to attend a judicial education course. The report will now be sent to the Florida Supreme Court, which will decide whether to accept the commission’s recommendation.

Judge Scherer has not commented on the commission’s findings. The commission’s report noted that she had expressed regret for her actions and had taken steps to improve her judicial conduct.