Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz cannot be called an “animal,” other derogatory names during the trial, according to the judge

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It would not be feasible, said Judge Elizabeth Scherer, Broward County Circuit Judge, to create “an exhaustive list of words” that should not be used to describe Cruz, who faces 34 counts of premeditated murder. and attempted for the February 2018 attack on a South Florida Institute that left 17 people dead. But the use of terms like “animal” or “that thing” during the trial would not be allowed, Scherer said.

However, Scherer’s ruling, released Friday, said the defense had also asked that some words not be used, such as “school shooter,” “killer” or “killer,” which were not derogatory, but ” normal words or terms that can be used to describe particular facts “.

This thinking also applies to words that refer to the shooting itself, Scherer said, as “massacre,” which describes a “particular circumstance” and is not “in itself” a derogatory word.

Prosecutors are calling for the death penalty for Cruz, who previously confessed to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that sparked a massive national protest movement against gun violence in American schools. He has not pleaded guilty, but his lawyers previously said he would plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence with no possibility of parole. The trial date has not been set.

The verdict comes after Cruz’s lawyers on Wednesday defended two motions to prevent state prosecutors and witnesses from referring to Cruz or the shooting at Douglas Marjory Stoneman High School in an “inflammatory” manner.

In a virtual hearing, which Cruz attended via video call, Assistant Public Defender Melissa McNeill asked that only Cruz be referred to by her name or “the defendant” and that the shooting only refer to “l ‘incident, mass shooting or tragedy’.

It would be “inappropriate to refer to the defendants in derogatory terms,” ​​McNeill argued, and it was not necessary because “the evidence speaks for itself.” Calling Cruz anything other than her name would be “an attack on her character and it’s unnecessary,” McNeill said.

In response, state attorney Nicole Chiappone said there was no law preventing the state from referring to a defendant as a murderer in a murder trial.

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“It’s not a derogatory word, it’s not an inflammatory word, it doesn’t comment on your character, it’s not even a name,” Chiappone said. “It’s what has charged him.”

Scherer wrote in its ruling that the court was confident that “no party wants to invite an error in the proceedings and that lawyers will act professionally in the trial, as is their duty.” Similarly, witnesses are expected to act appropriately and present a “proper courtroom decorum,” Scherer wrote.

“The defendant will be tried for evidence and what the lawyers say is not evidence. A trial is not the time for lawyers to editorialize or give their opinions about a defendant,” Scherer wrote. “The trial lawyers will present the evidence and the jury will make its decisions based on the evidence presented.”

However, if necessary, lawyers will be able to object during the trial and Scherer will address those objections in court, he wrote.

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