FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The Florida judge who gained a national profile while presiding over the Parkland school shooting trial announced Wednesday that she is resigning June 30 to pursue unspecified career opportunities.
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer rose in prominence when she oversaw the televised penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz. He received a life sentence last year after a divided jury was unable to agree on the death penalty for the 2018 mass killing of 14 students and three staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“It has been a a privilege to serve the people of the State of Florida for over 10 years,” Scherer wrote in her brief resignation letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The resignation was first reported by Court TV.
Scherer, a 46-year-old former prosecutor, was appointed to the bench in 2012. Broward County’s computerized system randomly assigned her Cruz’s case shortly after the shooting. It was her first murder trial.
Her handling of the case drew frequent praise from the parents and spouses of the victims, who said she treated them with professionalism and kindness, but her clashes with Cruz’s attorneys and others sometimes drew criticism from legal observers.