‘OUT OF LINE’

Judge Boots Nikolas Cruz’s Attorneys During Emotional Day in Court

Chief public defender David Wheeler and chief assistant public defender Gordon Weekes were summarily dismissed by Judge Elizabeth Scherer on Tuesday.

Comments made by Nikolas Cruz’ defense team after a series of victim impact statements sent a Florida courtroom into chaos Tuesday, as families reeled from a verdict that allowed the 24-year-old gunman to dodge a death sentence. One of Cruz’s attorneys, chief public defender David Wheeler, was aggrieved by a comment made by one victim’s parent that referred to Wheeler’s children. “I feel that 99 percent or a great percentage that has been said has been appropriate,” Judge Elizabeth Scherer said, admonishing defense attorneys who had laughed with the killer and at one point stuck a middle finger up at the court. “When these people have sat in this courtroom and watched this behavior from that table and they want to say that they’re not happy about it, what is the problem?” But a comparison drawn by chief assistant public defender Gordon Weekes to Scherer’s children sent the courtroom over the edge, with Scherer calling the comment “out of line” and a violation of “every rule of professional responsibility.” She then dismissed both of them.