Lawyers for Cruz want to block release of recorded confession + updates

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Attorneys for Nikolas Cruz want a judge to block any confession made by the Parkland school shooter from being released.

A motion for protective order was filed Wednesday by Broward County public defender Howard Finkelstein and special assistant public defender David Frankel.

According to the order, Cruz's attorneys are asking the court to stop the release of a statement from his recorded confession to the Broward Sheriff's Office.

"Because publication of certain portions of the statement will cause significant trauma to an already beleaguered community, impede the defendant's constitutional right against self-incrimination, as well his right to a fair and impartial trial, the defendant seeks order of the court to enjoin the state from releasing certain portions of the statement," Cruz's attorneys argue.

At issue is the recorded confession Cruz gave to BSO Detective John Curcio after his arrest on the day of the Feb. 14 mass shooting that killed 14 students and three faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Cruz's attorneys said the state intends to release portions of the statement, but they are asking for an emergency hearing before it is made public.

"At the inception of the statement, Detective Curcio does not Mirandize the defendant or provide him any caution as to his right to refuse questioning," Cruz's attorneys said. "Instead, Detective Curcio, in several different ways, encourages the defendant to speak."

Cruz's attorneys argue that Curcio's line of interrogation was intended to "strategically undermine the potential of the defense of insanity." They claim Curcio "failed to follow mandated protocol to provide the defendant with the opportunity to have a mental health professional present."

Cruz has been held without bond since the shooting. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.






After the videos that were recently released, I just don't think his taped confession is going to further hurt his case at this point.

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Attorneys for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz are seeking an emergency hearing to block the release of a statement the confessed mass killer made just hours after his capture.

The defense claims prosecutors are prepared to release a transcript and video of the statement Thursday or Friday, but want Judge Elizabeth Scherer to block that release until she determines which sections may be exempt from public release.

A hearing has been scheduled for Friday at 11 a.m. to address the motion.

As grounds, public defender Howard Finkelstein argues release “will cause significant trauma to an already beleaguered community, impede the defendant’s constitutional right against self-incrimination, as well as his right to a fair and impartial trial.”

The motion says Cruz spoke to Broward Sheriff’s Det. John Curcio while under arrest beginning at 6:18 p.m. on the evening of the Feb. 14th massacre, but was not issued a Miranda warning.

“I can only talk to you to hear from you what was going on with you,” the motion quotes Curcio as telling Cruz, calling that a strategic attempt to establish Cruz acted with premeditation and to undermine any potential insanity defense – without reading him his right to remain silent.

After getting that portion of the interrogation, the defense said, Curcio did issue the Miranda warnings. “Only limited portions of the statement contain questions and answers that do not pertain to the defendant’s participation in the crimes,” the motion states.

It also says Curcio made statements that are “irrelevant, prejudicial and inadmissible.”

Cruz requested the presence of a psychologist during the statement, and Curcio “failed to follow mandated protocol to provide the defendant with the opportunity to have a mental health professional present,” the motion states.

Cruz’s attorneys had previously stated they would enter a guilty plea if the state would take the death penalty off the table, which prosecutors said they would not do.




Well this will make shit a little more complicated.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

After the videos that were recently released, I just don't think his taped confession is going to further hurt his case at this point.

Yeah they really fucked themselves over letting those cell phone videos get released. They're fucked.

QuestionMark wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

After the videos that were recently released, I just don't think his taped confession is going to further hurt his case at this point.

Yeah they really fucked themselves over letting those cell phone videos get released. They're fucked.

Agree. They should have started damage control just a wee bit sooner.

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Nothing really happened during this hearing. His previous court date of June 21st is still in the books.  

The biggest change is now his Tumblr fangirl base seems to be mourning his hair. They are now calling him Slick-Nik.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

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Nothing really happened during this hearing. His previous court date of June 21st is still in the books.  

The biggest change is now his Tumblr fangirl base seems to be mourning his hair. They are now calling him Slick-Nik.

That smile looks evil to me and I don't say that lightly.

I don't get it... I don't get the fangirls...

Screamingophelia wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

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Nothing really happened during this hearing. His previous court date of June 21st is still in the books.  

The biggest change is now his Tumblr fangirl base seems to be mourning his hair. They are now calling him Slick-Nik.

That smile looks evil to me and I don't say that lightly.

I don't get it... I don't get the fangirls...

I actually watched the LIVE of the hearing. Cruz wasn't smiling like that just out of the blue. One of his lawyers had said something to him and kind of touched him on the back. You can see the man's arm behind Nikolas is the pic. They were both smiling.  

I agree on the fangirls.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Screamingophelia wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

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Nothing really happened during this hearing. His previous court date of June 21st is still in the books.  

The biggest change is now his Tumblr fangirl base seems to be mourning his hair. They are now calling him Slick-Nik.

That smile looks evil to me and I don't say that lightly.

I don't get it... I don't get the fangirls...

I actually watched the LIVE of the hearing. Cruz wasn't smiling like that just out of the blue. One of his lawyers had said something to him and kind of touched him on the back. You can see the man's arm behind Nikolas is the pic. They were both smiling.  

I agree on the fangirls.

That's interesting. I guess as a lawyer you have to build a rapport with your client.

This will be an interesting court case to me for sure.

I wonder if they will allow him to take the stand. What will we learn?


It will also always make me think for a moment how Eric and Dylan would have been if they were caught, probably because it is the first case/shooting that I wanted to research but I do wonder what kind of letters they would have gotten, would they have gotten a letter from young and impressionable and kinda edgy SO... oh maybe.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

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Nothing really happened during this hearing. His previous court date of June 21st is still in the books.  

The biggest change is now his Tumblr fangirl base seems to be mourning his hair. They are now calling him Slick-Nik.

What's with the shaved head? Is he trying to look like a skinhead?

QuestionMark wrote:

What's with the shaved head? Is he trying to look like a skinhead?

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If you look at pics of Cruz from his last court appearance, he was indeed looking quite scruffy. Maybe he wanted something lower maintenance. Who knows?

Looks like he gained weight

eldigato wrote:

Looks like he gained weight

Comparing his first mugshot with the pics from each of his court appearances through today's hearing,  he has clearly put on a few pounds.

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A judge will review a 12-hour video interrogation of Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz people before deciding which parts should be publicly released.

Conducted shortly after the Valentine's Day massacre, it includes a confession to the shooting that killed 17 at Marjory Stone man Douglas High School, prosecutors told Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer at a hearing Friday. Cruz's lawyers say those portions should not be released and other segments might inflame a community already traumatized by the crime and jeopardize Cruz's right to a fair trial.

Defense attorneys also expressed concern that other parts of the statement get into Cruz's mental state at the time of the shooting, which might become an issue if an insanity defense is pursued at trial and jurors have already seen it. Florida law in general requires public release of evidence in criminal cases once prosecutors turn it over to the defense, although parts can be exempted.

"I don't know that will be the defense. We haven't even discussed that yet," said Cruz attorney David Frankel. "The court can keep certain amounts of it confidential in the interests of justice."

Attorneys for The Associated Press and other media organizations agreed that some portions could be blocked from release, but argued that as much as possible should be made public. They noted that cellphone videos Cruz made before the shooting have been made public, and they depict him describing in precise detail what he planned to do, how many people he hoped to kill and why he felt compelled to become a school shooter — almost the same as a confession.

"A lot of information has been released in this case already," said media attorney Dana McElroy. "I'm sure we'll go through this a number of times in this case."

Scherer said she would review the statement, which covers 200 pages in a transcript, and then decide what should be released.

"That would be the first step," the judge said.

Cruz said nothing in court and sat at the defense table in chains in a red prison outfit with his head bowed. One difference was that he had a buzz haircut and appeared heavier than in previous hearings.









Damn. A 12 hour interview/200 page transcript.  

But I still think anything Cruz may have said during this interview couldn't possible compromise his case any more then the release of the cell phones videos. So I feel his defense is fighting a losing battle here.

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Damn. A 12 hour interview/200 page transcript.  

But I still think anything Cruz may have said during this interview couldn't possible compromise his case any more then the release of the cell phones videos. So I feel his defense is fighting a losing battle here.

I think their poor handling of the cell phone vids is why they want to keep the confession well out of public view. They're trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

QuestionMark wrote:

ShadowedGoddess wrote:

Damn. A 12 hour interview/200 page transcript.  

But I still think anything Cruz may have said during this interview couldn't possible compromise his case any more then the release of the cell phones videos. So I feel his defense is fighting a losing battle here.

I think their poor handling of the cell phone vids is why they want to keep the confession well out of public view. They're trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]  Very true. Still I would love to see this 12 hour video, or at least read the 200 page Mini-book of a transcript. Because I honestly don't think I could handle 12 hours of straight cringe(if they are like the cell videos) or any crying if Cruz had lost his edge and cringe by that time.