Judge refuses recusal request in Cruz case

Broward County Circuit Court officials canceled a hearing scheduled for Tuesday in the case against school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz after defense attorneys agreed to hand over evidence requested by prosecutors. Cruz’s lawyers agreed to provide hair samples, fingerprints, DNA, and photographs of the 19-year-old charged with killing 17 in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14. Judge Elizabeth Scherer on Monday refused to recuse herself from the case, dismissing defense attorneys’ claims she had shown previous bias in favor of prosecutors. Cruz’s legal team claimed their client couldn’t get a fair trial in Scherer’s court. Amidst the legal wrangling, more details about Cruz’s past emerged, adding to the evidence of missed opportunities to stop the troubled teen. Broward Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel that Cruz refused mental health resources offered by the school after he turned 18. Runcie wants state lawmakers to consider raising the age at which someone can refuse such services to 21. Cruz’s behavior deteriorated when he returned to Stoneman Douglas after spending several years at an alternative school for students with emotional and behavioral problems. School administrators expelled him in February 2017.