Elizabeth Scherer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scherer, Elizabeth}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Short description|American judge}}{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Elizabeth Anne Scherer
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| image = Elizabeth.Scherer.Official.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Official portrait, 2013
| office = Judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida
| term_start = December 14, 2012{{cite web|title=Rick Scott Names Maltz, Scherer Circuit Court Judges|date=December 15, 2012 |url=http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/blog/rick-scott-names-maltz-scherer-circuit-court-judges}}
| term_end = June 30, 2023
| nominator =
| appointer = Rick Scott
| predecessor = David Krathen
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| education = Florida State University (B.A.), University of Miami School of Law (J.D.)
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| state1 = Florida
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Elizabeth Anne Scherer (born 1976/1977){{cite web |title=Florida Supreme Court reprimands judge Elizabeth Scherer for conduct during Parkland school shooting trial - CBS Miami |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/florida-supreme-court-reprimands-judge-for-conduct-during-parkland-school-shooting-trial-4/ |website=www.cbsnews.com |access-date=5 May 2024 |date=24 July 2023}} is an American lawyer who served as a judge in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida from 2012 until her resignation in 2023.
Scherer gained national attention in 2022 after being randomly assigned to preside over the trial of Nikolas Cruz, the perpetrator of the 2018 Parkland high School shooting in Parkland, Florida, the deadliest high school shooting in United States history as of 2022.{{Cite news |last=Mazzei |first=Patricia |date=July 18, 2022 |title=The Parkland judge is handling her first death penalty case. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/18/us/judge-parkland-elizabeth-scherer.html |access-date=March 3, 2023 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |last=Milian |first=Jorge |date=April 18, 2022 |title=Judge overseeing Nikolas Cruz death penalty trial sheds anonymity for national spotlight |url=https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/crime/2022/04/18/nikolas-cruz-case-judge-elizabeth-scherer-presides-over-top-murder-case/7279761001/ |access-date=March 3, 2023 |website=The Palm Beach Post |language=en-US}} Her conduct during the trial was later found to be in violation of rules governing judicial conduct and biased towards the prosecution, resulting in a formal reprimand from the Florida Supreme Court.{{Cite news |date=2023-07-25 |title=Florida Supreme Court reprimands judge for conduct during Parkland school shooting trial |language=en |work=Associated Press |url=https://apnews.com/article/school-shooting-florida-judge-reprimand-0051d9e89da24e4a132568700796dc57 |access-date=2023-07-25}}
Life and career
Scherer graduated from Florida State University with a B.A. in English and received a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law.{{Cite web |last=Ruiz |first=Michael |date=April 7, 2022 |title=Who is Judge Elizabeth Scherer? |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/who-is-judge-elizabeth-scherer |access-date=March 3, 2023 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}} She is the daughter of William R. Scherer, a private attorney who was part of the legal team representing George W. Bush during the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida. Before being appointed as a judge by Governor Rick Scott in 2012, Scherer worked as a prosecutor under state attorney Michael Satz, who would later lead prosecution in the Cruz trial.
= Parkland shooter trial =
Judge Scherer had been relatively unknown outside of Broward County until being assigned to preside over the high-profile case of the Parkland shooter, Nikolas Cruz. Her conduct in the case drew both praise and criticism. Scherer permitted the jury to conduct a walk-through of the school building while also limiting the amount of information public defenders were allowed to disclose to jurors regarding the failures of the federal government agencies in handling Cruz prior to the shooting. During the trial, Scherer engaged in heated exchanges with the defense attorneys, accusing them of turning the trial into a "playground" and disrespecting the court.{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Namita |date=September 2, 2022 |title=Nikolas Cruz sentencing judge slams lawyers for turning court into 'playground' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/parkland-shooting-nikolas-cruz-sentencing-judge-b2158126.html |access-date=March 3, 2023 |website=The Independent |language=en}} Video footage of the trial was widely shared on social media.{{Cite web |last=Kinsey |first=Joe |date=April 18, 2022 |title=Viral Sensation Florida Judge Elizabeth Scherer Is Back & She Has An Instagram Page |url=https://www.outkick.com/viral-sensation-florida-judge-elizabeth-scherer-is-back-she-has-an-instagram-page/ |access-date=March 3, 2023 |website=OutKick |language=en-US}}
Scherer refused to step down after the defense had argued that the judge was biased against their client and was prejudicing the jurors.{{Cite web |last=Spencer |first=Terry |date=September 19, 2022 |title=Judge in Florida school shooter case refuses to step down |url=https://apnews.com/article/shootings-education-florida-fort-lauderdale-parkland-school-shooting-193b67a99a7bbdacc7c6e081c0915daa |access-date=March 3, 2023 |website=Associated Press |language=en}}
Following the trial, the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers sent an official complaint to the Chief Judge of Broward County describing her attitude toward the defense as "hostile and demeaning treatment of defense counsel".{{Cite web |last=Kika |first=Thomas |date=November 13, 2022 |title=Parkland families defend judge after hug: "Fair to all parties" |url=https://www.newsweek.com/parkland-families-defend-judge-after-hug-fair-all-parties-1759169 |access-date=March 3, 2023 |website=Newsweek |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Burke |first=Peter |date=November 4, 2022 |title=President of Florida defense lawyers critical of Judge Elizabeth Scherer in letter to Chief Judge Jack Tuter |url=https://www.wptv.com/news/parkland-shooting/judge-elizabeth-scherer-critical-letter |access-date=March 3, 2023 |website=WPTV News Channel 5 West Palm |language=en}} Scherer, who was further criticized for sharing hugs with the prosecutors following the case, received support from the victims' families, who, in an open letter posted on Twitter said that the judge "conducted herself with patience, professionalism, restraint &, when it was all over, compassion".
On April 13, 2023, the Florida Supreme Court unanimously agreed to grant death row inmate Randy Tundidor's request to disqualify Scherer from his case because of her actions after Cruz's sentencing and during Tundidor's postconviction proceedings.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-13 |title=Judge in Nikolas Cruz case, Elizabeth Scherer disqualified in murder case - CBS Miami |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/judge-in-nikolas-cruz-case-elizabeth-scherer-disqualified-in-murder-case/ |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}[https://supremecourt.flcourts.gov/content/download/865965/opinion/sc2022-1732.pdf Tundidor v. Florida] April 13, 2023. Supreme Court of Florida.
On May 10, 2023, Scherer announced that she will be resigning June 30, 2023.{{cite web |title=Judge who presided over Parkland school shooting trial announces resignation |url=https://apnews.com/article/elizabeth-scherer-judge-resigns-parkland-shooting-18f69a412d2f2c7f076aebcbb0103c78 |website=AP News |language=en |date=10 May 2023}}
On June 2, 2023, the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission found that Scherer violated many rules governing judicial conduct during Cruz's trial. The Commission recommended a public reprimand for Scherer.{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=Daniel |title=Judge in Parkland shooter's trial reprimanded for hugging prosecutors |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/07/26/parkland-judge-scherer-bias-reprimand/ |access-date=6 February 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=26 July 2023}} The public reprimand was issued the next month.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Scherer, Elizabeth}}
Category:21st-century American women judges
Category:21st-century American judges
Category:Florida state court judges
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)