After the Parkland school shooter was formally sentenced Wednesday to life in prison without parole for murdering 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in 2018, the judge in the case controversially decided to hug members of the prosecution team.
As trial watchers can attest, Judge Elizabeth Scherer has dressed down members of Nikolas Cruz’s defense team numerous times during the penalty phase and sentencing proceedings. On one occasion, she ripped the defense for “unprofessionalism.”
“I have never experienced a level of unprofessionalism in my career,” she said.
Now legal observers, many of them defense lawyers, are saying much the same of Scherer’s decision to hug prosecutors. Many described Scherer’s actions as “inappropriate,” “inexcusably improper,” biased, unfair, and bizarre.
Not even pretending to TRY to be unbiased & fair. This judge treated the defense team like shit. Just awful courtroom demeanor. No respect for the PDs. And of course she’s a former prosecutor. Shameful. https://t.co/NoHTd55tct
— Tina Heat (@TinaHeat23) November 2, 2022
I’m the chief prosecutor in my jurisdiction and while I’m not sure what interaction the judge had with the defense, this scene does not seem to me appropriate. https://t.co/ig4XtwsJl5
— Parisa Dehghani-Tafti (@parisa4justice) November 2, 2022
Professional tip to judges: don’t do this. https://t.co/2jB6CoRUWf
— Justin (@JustinLawGuy) November 3, 2022
JFC, this is shockingly inappropriate. https://t.co/w2IAjFHMK4
— Thankful Vox (@VoxPrudentia) November 3, 2022
Wildly inappropriate. https://t.co/RrszrMgtIc
— Matt Martens (@martensmatt1) November 3, 2022
I think that’s that “appearance of impropriety” that the MPRE likes to test. https://t.co/czafdBNj8S
— Sean Silverman: Silverman Bar Exam & LSAT Tutoring (@BarExamTutor) November 3, 2022
Apart from creating the appearance of bias, this is just bizarre. I feel comfortable saying right now, as a blanket statement, there is no situation in which I would like to hug a judge following the close of a trial. https://t.co/qRXW6rUEOb
— Alyssa Leader (@alittleleader) November 3, 2022
How does this judge act towards defendants, defense counsel, and the prosecution when not nationally televised? https://t.co/mIYNF2t4NN
— Derek Debus (@derek_debus) November 3, 2022
Congratulations to these defense lawyers for winning a road game, beating the other team and the refs. https://t.co/s0l2xKuGfE
— Coby DuBose | DuBose Defense (@DuBoseDefense) November 3, 2022
Totally inappropriate, but elected judges such as Judge Scherer may end up rewarded for this bad behavior https://t.co/skt152mAA3
— Ellen Henak (@EHenak) November 3, 2022
Apart from being wildly inappropriate b/c judges are supposed to be impartial—
Every public defender can tell you how judges have admonished us, as well as our clients & their families, from displaying emotion in the courtroom —including when a jury announces a verdict. https://t.co/YT2aXto4Iu
— Diana (@artemis_nieves) November 3, 2022
As a public defender, this is so, so gross and inappropriate. https://t.co/LOYWkTLEhE
— Taylor Soule (@TaylorOSoule) November 3, 2022
I would bet if I reviewed enough convictions from this judge’s courtroom, I would be able to reverse several. It does not matter who the defendant is – here, a total monster – this and her other behavior is precisely why innocent people have done 28,000 years in prison since 1989 https://t.co/ZGLzKy3BjC
— Wade Fink (@WadeFink) November 3, 2022
Regardless of anything about the case, this is inexcusably improper conduct by a judge. https://t.co/yvBo6use2H
— Scott Greenfield (@ScottGreenfield) November 3, 2022
So much for the appearance of impartiality. https://t.co/oMXMGHJUOU
— Marc J. Randazza 🇺🇸 🇮🇹 (@marcorandazza) November 3, 2022
I once worked on a case where the judge hugged the defendant after the trial. That was inappropriate enough; this even moreso.
Judges need to stay on the bench. https://t.co/F40SwhYLNe
— Doug Gladden (@DougtheLawyer) November 3, 2022
You know Defense counsel is a member of this community too. And the fact that they were able to successfully do their jobs despite the horrific crime their client committed to their community is admirable. A good judge would not feed the vitriol they’re facing. https://t.co/HSoNnIJLMu
— Karl’s Girlfriend (@nomoreevictions) November 3, 2022
In the end, of course, the defense team achieved its goal — a life sentence for their client instead of capital punishment — so you won’t see them running to an appellate court with a link to this article. Rather, any complaint — assuming one is filed — would occur before a judicial conduct board and, if necessary, recommended to the Florida Supreme Court.
Florida Code of Judicial Conduct says that a judge “shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety” in all of their activities.
“A judge shall not allow, family, social, political or other relationships to influence the judge’s judicial conduct of judgment. A judge shall not lend the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge or others; nor shall a judge covey or permit others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge,” the rules say.
In this instance, the judge was clearly wearing a robe in a courtroom hugging parties to one side of the case and not the other — but after the proceedings had concluded in favor of the defense.
Wherefrom the warm relationship between judge and the prosecution at the end of the often emotional death penalty case? An elected jurist, Judge Scherer is not only a decade-long former prosecutor but she also worked for longtime State Attorney Michael J. Satz, who headed the prosecution team in this case. And the judge surely knows each of the veteran assistant state attorneys she embraced.
Satz appeared to be walking in the other direction as the hugs occurred.
[Image via Law&Crime Network]
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