Confessed Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz was back in Broward County court on Tuesday for routine proceedings as his defense team and state prosecutors prepare for his trial late next year.
Cruz sat between his lawyers in a red jail suit looking down throughout much of the hearing. He is facing the death penalty for murdering 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland on Feb. 14.
The case is headed to trial in September 2019. And lawyers are now reviewing investigation reports and interviewing dozens of witnesses who could testify during the trial.
Cruz’s defense team has filed several requests for information gathered from investigations after the shooting. Most motions generated little disagreement on Tuesday with the state agreeing to turn over the information.
However, another request—which Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer deferred ruling on—related to whether daily jail observation reports on Cruz should be kept private.
Broward County corrections officers produce the reports to monitor his actions, demeanor and thought processes because he is on suicide watch and listed as having an “altered mental state.”
Assistant public defender Diane Cuddihy said the observation forms are like medical records and should stay sealed to protect Cruz’s privacy.
“Many of the words that are choices on this form are also contained in the medical, mental health forms," Cuddihy said, adding that some of the descriptors include being agitated, anxious and withdrawn.
The Broward Sheriff's Office pushed back, arguing that the reports are not produced by clinical professionals and are different from medical records.
Toward the end of the hearing, the judge and both legal teams also discussed whether Cruz needs a public defender for a separate set of charges he faces for attacking a jail guard.
The attack in early November started when the guard asked Cruz to stop dragging his sandals as he walked. Cruz then gave him the middle finger before rushing and punching him several times.
Although Cruz has a commissary account and has been receiving donations from people around the country, assistant public defender Melisa McNeill argued he still cannot afford to pay for his own lawyer for the new case. Scherer agreed and said she would appoint him a public defender.
