Florida judge Elizabeth Scherer has been disqualified from a death row inmate’s case for showing sympathy to the state during the sentencing hearing of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz – including hugging the prosecutor.
The Florida Supreme Court unanimously agreed to remove the Broward County judge from overseeing any post-conviction proceedings for Randy Tundidor, who was sentenced to death for the 2019 slaying of his landlord.
Cruz pleaded guilty to slaughtering 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Feb. 14, 2018, in one of the deadliest mass school shootings in U.S. history.
Tundidor alleged that at Cruz’s sentencing hearing Nov. 1, 2022, Scherer “engaged in heated exchanges with Cruz’s defense team, during which she accused a member of threatening her children and told two members to ‘go sit down,’” according to the decision.
JUDGE LASHES OUT AT DEFENSE LAWYERS AFTER THEY RESTED THEIR CASE
Judge Elizabeth Scherer during jury deliberations in the penalty phase of the trial of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
After a three-month penalty trial, the jury failed to unanimously vote for death. Scherer, on Nov. 2, had no choice but to sentence Cruz to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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“Immediately after sentencing, Judge Scherer left the bench and, while still in her judicial robe, exchanged hugs with the victims’ families and members of the prosecution team,” the decision says.
One of these members is Broward Assistant State Attorney Steven Klinger, who is also the prosecutor in Tundidor’s case.
A photo combination showing Broward County Judge Elizabeth Scherer chastising the defense team on Sept. 14, 2022, and Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz in court for his penalty trial in Fort Lauderdale. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
Two days later, during an off-the-record status hearing in Tundidor’s case, Scherer asked Klinger how he was doing, and he responded to the effect that ‘words cannot describe’ how he felt,” the decision says.
Tundidor inferred that the pair were “commiserating over their shared disappointment at the outcome of [Cruz’s] case.”
Scherer denied Tundidor’s motion to boot her from his case, and he appealed to the state Supreme Court, which issued its decision April 13.
READ THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT DECISION REMOVING JUDGE ELIZABETH SCHERER FROM DEATH PENALTY CASE
The panel wrote that the actions of Scherer “showed a sympathy with the State” that would cause a reasonable person to fear not receiving a “fair and impartial proceeding.”
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The decision specifically points to Scherer hugging Klinger “in the courtroom while still wearing a robe” and their personal exchange two days later purportedly bonding over the jury’s failure to sentence Cruz to death.
Nikolas Cruz’s lawyer, Melisa McNeill, delivering her opening statement Aug. 22, 2022. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
It wasn’t the first time Scherer’s conduct came under fire. Cruz moved for a mistrial, which was denied, arguing that the judge had repeatedly lashed out at his attorneys – including in front of the jury.
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Defense lawyer Melisa McNeill wrote in the motion that the court’s “animosity” toward her is “long-held and has infected the entire trial.”
