[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Someone violated Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer’s order to protect the private medical records of Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz, and his lawyers argued in court Wednesday that it wasn’t them.
Cruz, who turned 20 on Monday, is facing the death penalty, charged with committing 17 first-degree murders at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14. He’s also charged with 17 counts of attempted murder.
The mass shooting prompted the state to create a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission to investigate what happened and how a repeat can be avoided. That commission, according to court documents, obtained private medical records that Scherer had ordered sealed.
Such a release of information should have required a court order, said defense lawyer Melisa McNeill.
Cruz’s lawyers were in court Wednesday asking Scherer to hold a hearing to determine who released the information — it could only have been the State Attorney’s Office or the Broward Sheriff’s Office, McNeill said. Scherer should then decide whether anyone should be held in contempt for violating the order, she said.
McNeill also suggested that Scherer personally approve future releases of information to the public.
“Any time the State Attorney’s Office or the Broward Sheriff’s Office wants to release records to a third party, those records need to come before the court so that they are authorized for proper release,” McNeill said.
Assistant State Attorney Steven Klinger said the move to hold anyone in contempt has no legal basis. Scherer did not rule on the issue, promising to “take it under advisement” for a later decision.
Scherer did not address a lingering issue over whether the South Florida Sun Sentinel and two of its reporters should be held in contempt for publishing the complete details of a report that was made available by the Broward school district over the summer.
The report was based on Cruz’s record as a public school student, and it disclosed, among other things, that school officials didn’t properly advise Cruz of his legal options when he was faced with removal from Stoneman Douglas his junior year, leading him to give up special education services.
By court order, the district was supposed to black out nearly two-thirds of the report because it disclosed information that Cruz was entitled to keep private under federal and state law. But the method used to post the report on the district’s website made it possible for anyone to read the blacked-out portions by copying and pasting them into another file.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers in the Cruz case also clashed Wednesday over how certain witnesses have been classified, which has a direct effect on whether they can be interviewed by lawyers, or deposed, as the trial approaches.
Defense lawyer David Frankel accused prosecutors of understating the importance of eight law enforcement witnesses by placing them on a low-priority “C-list” along with 457 other witnesses who are not likely to ever testify in court.
There are 179 witnesses on the so-called “A-list,” consisting of detectives, surviving victims and others with firsthand knowledge of what happened when Cruz attacked the campus. No figure was given for a “B-list,” a list that usually consists of crime-scene technicians, analysts and other experts likely to testify.
Frankel told Scherer on Wednesday he wanted eight witnesses moved off the C-list so that he could interview them about what they saw.
“These are witnesses who went into the building, were at the scene,” said Frankel.
The issue is not whether Cruz is guilty – the defense has openly conceded that. Their strategy appears to be aimed at protecting his constitutional rights as a defendant and avoiding execution, either by convincing the state to accept a guilty plea or, eventually, convincing at least one juror to spare Cruz’s life.
In a death penalty case, any mistake by the judge, prosecutors or the defendant’s lawyers can result in an overturned verdict that starts the process over from the beginning.
“This is a death penalty case, with the highest degree of diligence that needs to be done,” Frankel said.
Prosecutors agreed to reclassify one of the eight witnesses, and Scherer agreed to reclassify another.
The other six remain on the C-list, but the judge left the door open for defense lawyers to try to depose them at a later date if new information comes to light.
Scherer ordered both sides to start taking depositions — witness interviews — as soon as possible. The judge said she wanted 25 depositions conducted or at least scheduled by Nov. 15, with another 25 completed by the end of the year.
From all the statements and arguments being made by Cruz's lawyers, especially Melissa McNeill, it is abundantly clear that Nik's defense team thinks info is being leaked to the Parkland Safety Commission. The Commission
is getting info/records from someone either in the State Attorney’s Office OR the Broward Sheriff’s Office, since they do keep coming up with sealed records.
I mean they are actively investigating the shooting, which is why the school commission was formed in the first place. So I think they should be allowed to see whatever is needed. I honestly believe the person leaking this info
thinks they are helping, but in reality leaking these records against the judge's order is just creating unneeded delays and drama.
Subject: Cruz due back in court today. Updated with hearing info. 
Wed Sep 26, 2018 1:33 pm
