Three months for jury selection? Stoneman Douglas trial plans hit a possible snag

More than four years after a gunman turned a tranquil suburban high school into the site of a national tragedy, the effort to serve justice appears to be hitting a roadblock — attorneys in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting case told a judge on Wednesday that they simply need more time.

Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer has been telling prospective jurors that they can expect testimony to begin May 31 for the trial to decide the fate of confessed killer Nikolas Cruz. Now that date is in question, as lawyers on both sides are telling Scherer they can’t interview potential witnesses in time to meet the deadline.

Advertisement

Each side is blaming the other for the need for more time — prosecutors faulted the defense for waiting until March to provide the names of key defense witnesses who will testify about the defendant’s mental health. Defense lawyers cried foul when the prosecution listed additional witnesses to rebut the anticipated defense testimony.

Both sides agree that they will need time to depose those witnesses and possibly hold hearings to determine whether their testimony is even admissible. Lawyers are asking for jury selection to continue, possibly through June, as the last minute legal issues are worked out. “If we do it right, we do it once.” said lead defense attorney Melisa McNeill.

Advertisement

Scherer appeared exasperated at the need for an extension. “In what universe does it take, in any case, three months for jury selection?” she said. While she appeared open to pushing the start of testimony to mid-June, Scherer did not make a decision, leaving the question unanswered for now.

Robert Jarvis, a professor at Nova Southeastern University’s law school, said he understands Scherer feels pressure to complete the trial, but speed cannot be a priority.

“Because Cruz admitted he’s the killer, much of the public doesn’t understand what there is to talk about and why the case is still going,” Jarvis said. “A more experienced judge would have realized that this was always going to be a very long process.”

Death penalty cases are the most highly scrutinized in the appellate process, and even the most experienced judges are not immune from making mistakes that get convictions overturned. Earlier this year, an appeals court overturned the conviction of Peter Avsenew, who was sentenced to death in 2017 after being found guilty of murdering a Wilton Manors couple. The judge in Avsenew’s case, Ilona Holmes (now retired), was one of the most experienced in the Broward Courthouse.

Scherer has been a judge 10 years. This is her first death penalty case.

The debate over delays is taking place against the backdrop of jury pre-selection that began April 4. Panel by panel, roughly 60 at a time, Scherer has gone through more than 1,200 jurors, weeding out the majority based on scheduling alone. Fewer than 250 so far have indicated they will not suffer a financial hardship if they had to sit on the trial for four months. The judge is hoping to add another 100 before starting the second phase of jury selection, which will weed out those with strong opinions about the death penalty in general or the case in particular.

Cruz killed 17 people at the Parkland high school and physically wounded 17 more. He pleaded guilty to all charges in October.

Jury selection has been marked by moments of raw emotion and unexpected levity. One woman said on the first day of screening that she could not serve because it would conflict with the time she has committed to her “sugar daddy.” One man used the courtroom to plug his bakery business — “I am responsible for creating the best empanadas in town,” he said.

Advertisement

A Broward court bailiff was included on one panel. When the judge asked him which of the prosecutors and defense lawyers he recognized, he didn’t hesitate before answering “All of them.” But that wasn’t a time conflict, and the bailiff, whose name is being withheld out of respect for juror privacy, is among those who were told to return for the next phase of jury selection.

Last week, Scherer struck an entire panel because too many potential jurors were overcome with emotion at the mere sight of Cruz. The cascading effect of eight jurors leaving the courtroom in tears one after another tainted the rest of the pool, Scherer reasoned.

In other panels, emotional jurors have been commonplace. Scherer has one of the bailiffs escort such jurors from the room while the others are screened. Emotional jurors usually return to the courtroom separately and are asked whether they have any scheduling conflicts that would prevent them from serving. All have been excused from the case.

Jury selection is scheduled to resume April 25.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Rafael Olmeda may be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457. Follow him on Twitter @rolmeda.