Filing# 150830271 E-Filed 06/03/2022 02:12:11 PM

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE

17TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND
FOR BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

STATE OF FLORIDA, CASE NO. 18-1958CF10A

VS.

NIKOLAS CRUZ JUDGE SCHERER

Defendant.
i

MOTION FOR CONTINUANCE (D-288)

The Defendant, Nikolas Cruz, by and through the undersigned attorney, pursuant to

3.190(f),Fla. R. Crim. P. as well as the Fifth,Sixth,Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the

U.S. Constitution and Article I, Sections 9, 16, 17 and 22 of the Florida Constitution,and files

this motion for a continuance. As grounds, Mr. Cruz states as follows:

1. murder and 17 counts of attemptedfirst-

Mr. Cruz pledguiltyto 17 counts of first-degree

degree murder. The State has filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty.

2. Trial commenced with jury selection on April 4,2022. Due to illnesses and various other

schedulingand preparationissues,voir dire is expected to continue into at least late June.

3. On May 24,2022, an 18-year-oldhigh school student entered Robb Elementary School in

Uvalde, Texas, and shot and killed 19 students and two teachers,and wounded 17 others.

The devastation resultingfrom the Uvalde shooting has opened old wounds for the

Broward County community and has heightened anxiety for Broward students and

parents. It has also fueled gun control advocates, still reelingfrom the death of 10 people

mass shootingin Buffalo,New York on

1
in a May 14,20222

During the time this motion was being drafted, another mass shooting with multiple deaths occurred. On June 2,
1

2022, a gunman entered a medical building in Tusla, Oklahoma and killed two physicians,a receptionist, and
another patient.The shooter used an AR-15 stylerifle,which he had legallypurchased earlier that day.

*** FILED: BROWARD COUNTY, FL BRENDA D. FORMAN, CLERK 06/03/2022 02:12:11 PM.****
 4. To make any attempt to conduct a fair,constitutional trial in the wake of the Uvalde and

Buffalo tragedieswould be futile. There have alreadybeen two prospectivejurorsout of

a panel of eight
.2
who indicated that their to be
ability fair and impartialhas been affected

by the Uvalde shooting;one of whom offered his opinion with no prompting from the

3
State or defense.

5. The media has drawn numerous comparisons between this case and the shooting in

Uvalde. The followingis not an exhaustive list:

o Obsession with guns. Dysfunctional families. Many parallels exist between

Parkiand and Uvaide shooter, https://www.sun-
sentinel.corn/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-ne-parkland-uvalde-
shooter-parallels-20220528-6puwqb4thjbxnmeqnwple73ymq-story.html

. Shooter Warning Signs Get Lost in Sea of Socia! Media Posts,

https://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2022-05-27/shooter-warning-signs-
(comparing social media activityrelatingto
get-lost-in-sea-of-social-media-posts
guns on profilesof mass shooters,Nikolas Cruz, Ethan Crumbley (Oxford High),
Salvador Ramos (Uvalde)).

. Our public health crisis? The angry young American male?

greatest
https://nypost.com/2022/05/25/our-greatest-public-health-crisis-the-angry-young-
Nikolas Cruz, Cho Seung-Hui
american-male/ (displayinga photo of, and discussing,
(VirginiaTech), Salvador Ramos and Payton Gendron (BuffaloTops Supermarket).

o 'Please send the police now:' Urgent pleas don't always mean the cops rush in.
Just look at Parkiand and Uvaide. https://www.sun-
sentinel.corn/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-ne-texas-shooting-
police-response-20220528-24vi6s7osrbshkv=vxtftjy4imq-story.html

o BSO increasing patrols to protect schools following

Texas Shooting. Free mental
Broward County public schools.
health counseling offered for staff,students at
https://www.locall0.com/news/local/2022/05/25/broward-sheriff-announces-extra-

2
It should be noted that four of the eightjurors were excused for cause irrespectiveof their feelings about this case

or their feelingsafter the Uvalde shooting.Two were excused because they would never impose the death penalty
and two were excused because they believed they would automatically vote for death in a case of first-degree
murder. Thus, the panel of potentiallyqualifiedjurors was only four; meaning half of those potentiallyqualified
jurors foundit hard to be fair and impartialafter hearing about the events in Uvalde, Texas.
Based upon the objection from the State, the defense was not permitted to discuss with the prospective jurors their
3

feelings about the Uvalde shooting and whether they could still consider a life without the possibilityof parole
sentence for Mr. Cruz in lightof it. Had the defense been permitted to discuss the Uvalde shooting with these
prospectivejurors,more of them may have expressed the same sentiment.

2
 Vickie
(BCPS Superintendent,
measures-to-protect-schools-following-texas-shooting/
Cartwrightstatingthat the Broward Community knows "preciselywhat that feels
to a school shooting.
like,"referring

. How Have School Shootings Shaped Your Experience as a Student? The massacre
at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, contributes to a grim historyof school
shootings in the US. What has it been like to attend school in the shadow of this
violence? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/25/learning/how-have-school-
(discussinga 2018 article about
shootings-shaped-your-experience-as-a-student.html
how the Parkland shooting moved students across the country to become more
involved in advocacy).

o
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Principal:"We Are Here To Help" After Texas School
Massacre, https://parklandtalk.com/msd-principal-after-texas-school-shooting-15591
(Marjory Stoneman Douglas PrincipalMichelle Kefford comforting parents of MSD
students Wednesday after Uvalde shooting).

6. Moreover, several media outlets have interviewed families of the Parkland shooting

victims, or those close to it, to obtain quotes about how the Uvalde shooting has

"reopened old wounds" in Parkland, includingone family member interviewed directly

outside the courtroom where jury selection was takingplace.

o
Every time a school shooting happens, 'it rips the Band-Aids off in the Park!and
communik https://www.sun-sentinel.
com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-
shooting/fl-ne-school-safety-texas-shooting-20220525-
blas41hm4nherggxn4nybltome-story.html

. FL Dems want measures soul-shattering'mass shootings;

to prevent 'horrijic,
H/hat about the GOPF, https://floridaphoenix.com/2022/05/25/fl-dems-want-
measures-to-prevent-horrific-soul-shattering-mass-shootings-what-about-the-gop/
(noting that those in Parkland are "retraumatized" by the continuous epidemic of
mass shootings).

o
Anger, anguish among Parkland and Newtown families after Texas shooting,
https://www.washingtonpost.corn/dc-md-va/2022/05/25/parkland-newtown-uvalde-
school-shooting/ (Input from Sandy Hook parent Nicole Hockley, Parkland parent
Manuel Oliver, and Parkland survivor Alex Wind).

. Parkland school shooting survivors react to deadly Texas school shooting: 'Not
again'; https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/News/parkland-school-shooting-survivors-
(Includesquotes/tweetsfrom Parkland
react-deadly-texas-school/story?id==84963967
survivors/families: siblings,Lauren Hogg & David Hogg, Alex Wind, Fred

Gutenberg,Aalayah Eastmond).

3
 . Parkland survivor offersteens advice at Mass. safetysummit following Texas
school shooting,https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2022/05/25/school-
shooting-parkland-survivor-freetown-teen-summit/

e Parkland survivor, Sandy Hook parent weigh inon Texas school shooting;
ht*s://abcnews.go.com/US/parkland-survivor-sandy-hook-parent-weigh-texas-
school/story?id==84972223 (interviewwith former MSD student who was present
during the February 14, 2018, shooting).

o Texas school shooting:Mother of Parkland shootingvictim fightingfor change;

https://www.fox5ny.com/news/texas-school-shooting-mother-of-parkland-shooting-
(interviewwith Linda Biegel Schulman, mother of
victim-fighting-for-change
Parkland victim Scott Beigel.

7. Finally,there have been several local, state and national events, protests and vigilsto

raise awareness of school shootingsand other forms of mass gun violence, and more are

planned.

. Back to Back Mass Shootings Spur Vigil,Rallies Callingfor Action,

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/528299-back-to-back-mass-shootings-spur-vigil-
(A vigilto honor Buffalo and Uvalde mass shootingvictims
rallies-calling-for-action/
was held by local gun law reform groups, includingDebbie Hixon as a speaker,wife
of Parkland victim, Coach Chris Hixon.)

. After Uv?tide and Buffalo mass shootings,Democrats and gun-controlgroups plan

Broward vigi4ca//fbraction,https://www.sun-sentinel.corn/news/politics/fl-ne-
moms-demand-gun-vigil-broward-20220526-2cjvteyavjc5vfsrzwsatheboe-story.html
(Event organized by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, March for
Our Lives, Change the Ref, Broward Young Democrats, Ruth's List Broward, the
Broward Democratic Hispanic Caucus and Broward for Progress.

o 'Frustrated,angryand heartbroken': Shevrin Jones, Charlie Crist,Parkland

family members among attendees at Sunrise gun-controlra!4,https-J/www.sun-
sentinel.corn/local/broward/sunrise/fl-ne-moms-demand-action-gun-control-rally-
sunrise-20220528-duakty4bhrgkti754xny3w665y-story.html

8. It would be wholly improper, and a violation of Mr. Cruz's Eighth and Fourteenth

Amendment rights,
if the jury were to consider these other shootingsas an "aggravating

factor,"or a reason for death. Section 921.141(6),Fla. Stat. See also Davis v. State,311

So. 3d 970 (Fla.2021) ("In capitalcases, only statutory aggravating factors may be

4
 However, under the circumstances, it may be extremely difficult for jurors
considered.").

to put those feelingsaside and not consider these other shootingsin making their moral

determination regarding the appropriatesentence in this case.4 In other words, although

the defense has been forced to ignore the recent mass shootingsin conducting voir dire,5

that does not mean the jurorsselected as a result of this inadequatevoir dire process will

do the same. "People who are experiencingheightened anger or moral outrage are more

likelyto ignoreexculpatorycircumstances and mitigatingfactors for punishment and to

place greater importance on aggravating evidence, which makes them more likelyto vote

for a death sentence." (See D-155, Proffer in Opposition to SF-91, State's Motion for

View by Jury, filed July 30, 2021, exhibit 72, Affidavit of Dr. Jessica Salerno).

9. The State's purpose in proceeding with this trial is to obtain a death sentence for Mr.

Cruz. Jurors will be asked to use their core value system and moral beliefs as tools for

deciding whether the evidence indicates that life without parole or death is the

appropriatesentence for Mr. Cruz. That decision cannot be based on factors that have

nothing to do with this crime or Mr. Cruz. As the Supreme Court Stated in Gardner v.

Fiorida.

From the point of view o f the defendant, it is different in both its severityand
its From the point of view of society,the action of the sovereign in
finality.
taking the life of one of its citizens also differs dramaticallyfrom any other
legitimatestate action. It is of vital importance to the defendant and to the
community that any decision to impose the death sentence be, and appear to
be, based on reason rather than capriceor emotion.

4
During the questioningof jurors on the day after the shooting in Uvalde, May 25,2022, one prospectivejuror sua
sponte indicated it would be harder for him to be fair and impartial in this case "after yesterday." Another
prospectivejuror later joined in that sentiment and both were excused for cause.
5
As stated in footnote 2, this Court did not permit the defense to ask specificquestions about the Uvalde shooting,
but only permitted the defense to ask general questions about mass shootings.

5
 10. The current climate in Broward County, and indeed across the United States, of fear,

shock, sadness and anger

- which are all understandable reactions to the wave of recent

mass shootings- will make it impossible for Mr. Cruz to receive a fair trial at this time.

Persistingwith this trial at this time will violate Mr. Cruz's rights to due process

guaranteed by the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution

and Article I, Section 9 of the Florida Constitution,a fair trial in the appropriatevenue,

Broward County, Florida guaranteedby the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the

United States Constitution and Article I, Sections 16 and 22 of the Florida Constitution,

privacy guaranteed by the Fourth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amendments of the United

States Constitution and Article I, Section 23 of the Florida Constitution,equalprotection

or basic rights guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States

Constitution and Article I, Section 2 of the Florida Constitution,and to be free from cruel

and unusual punishment or excessive punishment as guaranteed by the Eighth and

Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 17 of the

Florida Constitution.

WHEREFORE, the Defense moves this Court to continue this trial for a reasonable period

of time to allow the wave of emotion surroundingthe recent mass shootingsto subside so that

Mr. Cruz can be tried by a jury free from bias and prejudiceagainsthim for events that are not

relevant to his crime, his background, his character or his life.

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 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

WE HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy o f the foregoinghas been furnished
by e-service to the Office of the State Attorney, Michael Satz, at courtdocs@sao 17.state.fl.us,

Broward County Courthouse, Fort Lauderdale, Florida,this June 3,2022.

GORDON WEEKES
Public Defender
17th Judicial Circuit

McNeill
/s/ Melisa Tamara Curtis
/s/
Melisa McNeill Tamara Curtis
Assistant Public Defender Assistant Public Defender
Fla.Bar No. 475408 Fla.Bar No. 712167
(954) 831-6750 (954) 831-6750
discovery@browarddefender.org discovery@browarddefender.
org