NIKOLAS CRUZ SENTENCING ....... JUDGE SCHERER LOSES IT, AGAIN .......

THE CAPTAIN REPORTS:

HOLY TACO TUESDAY ..... 

NORTH OF THE BORDER ... JUDGE ELIZABETH SCHERER LOSES IT, AGAIN .....

Our loyal readers will recall that, on September 15 of this year, we posted a story about a heated exchange between Judge Elizabeth Scherer and lead defense counsel for Nikolas Cruz, APD Melisa McNeill. 

APD Melisa McNeill: "Judge, you're insulting me on the record in front of my client ..."

Judge Scherer: "You've been insulting me the entire trial ..."

Our post was titled: NORTH OF THE BORDER ... JUDGE ELIZABETH SCHERER LOSES IT, DRESSES DOWN DEFENSE COUNSEL which can be found here

Fast Forward to Sentencing today: Judge Scherer scheduled a two day hearing, today and tomorrow, for Victim Impact Statements, in the Cruz trial. Tomorrow, presumably, Judge Scherer will sentence Cruz to Life in prison. Over the course of several hours today, multiple victims addressed the court and the defendant, and at times, more than one victim directed their statements (and their anger) directly at the group of defense attorneys that represent Cruz.  Those angry statements by the victims included bringing up the children of the defense attorneys. Apparently, that is when things got really ugly.

First, elected Public Defender Gordon Weekes addressed Judge Scherer. Judge Scherer responded and at one point raised her voice and directed her anger at APD Melissa McNeill, saying “Ms. McNeill - BE QUIET”. Next up was one of the Assistant PDs at the defense table who got into it with Judge Scherer about his concerns that the victims were directing their comments at the defense attorneys and including the children of the defense attorneys. Scherer dismissed his concerns. The APD shot back and asked Scherer,  “Judge I can assure you that, if they were talking about your children, you would notice it.” With that, the Judge completely lost it. She ordered the APD from the defense table and told him “you’re out of line” ... “you need to go sit in the back ...” of the courtroom. The Judge went on ... “to try to threaten my children and bring up my children is inappropriate. GO TO THE BACK OF THE ROOM, NOW”.

At this point, PD Weekes re-approached the podium while Judge Scherer continued to excoriate Weekes and his office. You can watch it all unfold courtesy of NBC 6. Also, below is the story as written by WPLG, Channel 10.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – An argument over whether or not the relatives of the victims should address the Parkland school shooter’s defense attorneys during the sentencing hearing prompted Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer to ask Broward Public Defender Gordon Weekes to sit down Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale.

A few of the parents of the victims of the 2018 Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland used their time in court to criticize Melisa McNeill, the chief assistant public defender, and her team.

Weekes tried to persuade Scherer to prevent the incitement of violence. Assistant State Attorney Jeff Marcus stood up and objected to Weekes’ statement saying the only violence in reference was that of the defendant.

“No one jumped when people were referring to Karma acting in the universe,” Weekes said referring to a grieving mother’s comment. “No one was jumping up when they were referring to the defense’s children. No one jumped up to try to tap down that rhetoric ... I am witnessing a building of momentum and I am encouraging the court to direct the state to tap down on that momentum.”

Assistant State Attorney Carolyn McCann accused Weekes of lying.

“The only thing the state has said to any of these witnesses when they get up is, ‘Would they like to say something on behalf of the victim they are representing.’ There has been no encouraging or inciting,” McCann said.

One of the grieving father’s raised a comparison mentioning the defense’s children. Then an upset defense attorney raised the judge’s children and the judge was not having it. The exchange soon resulted in Scherer ordering the public defender to sit in the back of the courtroom with Weekes.

Weekes returned to the podium.

“Judge, the same venom that the court is expressing is the same venom that defense counsel had to see through,” Weekes said while defending his public defender’s behavior.

Scherer told Weekes that McNeill had chosen to bring up her children during her defense and then she asked Weekes to sit down. Weekes asked Scherer to not dismiss him. Scherer repeatedly asked him to sit down. Weekes eventually walked away.

“You are inappropriate and out of line. Go sit down,” Scherer told Weekes, later adding, “We are moving on with the sentencing.”

During her heated exchange with the defense, Scherer also mentioned Assistant Public Defender Tamara Curtis’ behavior in court earlier this year. Curtis wasn’t in the courtroom.

“When these people are upset about specific things that have gone on from that table like shooting the middle finger up at this court and laughing and joking ... When these people have sat in this courtroom and watched this behavior from that table and they want to say that they are not happy about it, what is the problem?”

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