Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who presided over the 2022 Parkland school shooting trial, visited Florida International University on Oct. 17 to speak at the school’s Criminal Law Death Penalty Symposium. She touched on the unique challenges the case presented and criticized capital punishment practices among justices nationwide.
Scherer disclosed that the trial was one of the most complicated she had ever handled not only due to the gravity of the crime but also its scope. It was her first death penalty case, and some critics believed she didn’t have the experience needed to preside over one of such complexity. The 48-year-old retired justice argued that among all the available judges at the time, she was best suited.
“You have to be empathetic towards people, towards victims, even towards the defendant sometimes,” she said. “But you can’t let that affect the decisions that you make.”
Scherer also condemned the lack of training most judges receive on handling capital punishment trials, believing it should take much more than the current requirements.
“It is ridiculous that a judge only needs to take a 40-hour course, and they are prepared for a death penalty case.”
