Attorneys for accused Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz asked the Florida Supreme Court to take up a dispute about whether the identities of Cruz’s expert witnesses can be temporarily shielded from public disclosure.
The attorneys went to the Supreme Court after the 4th District Court of Appeal ruled that the names of mental-health experts visiting Cruz in jail are public records. But in the filing Tuesday, defense attorneys contended that temporarily preventing the release of the names is needed to ensure a fair trial for Cruz, who is charged with murdering 17 people in February 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The attorneys pointed to past Florida Supreme Court rulings in two other cases. “The decision below (in the 4th District Court of Appeal) expressly and directly conflicts with this (Supreme) Court’s decision holding that courts can and must temporarily limit public access to information if public disclosure affects the right to a fair trial,” the brief said. “The district court wrongly held that courts cannot temporarily limit access to public information.”
The state and the Sun Sentinel newspaper have opposed the request by Cruz’s attorneys, and a Broward County circuit judge denied a protective order.
The appeals court upheld the circuit-court decision. “The Constitution and the public records act do not authorize redacting the names of the experts visiting petitioner in jail,” the appeals-court ruling said. “If public policy demands that these be kept confidential, it is for the Legislature to provide an exemption by statute.”
