FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The judge presiding over Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz's death penalty trial was assigned the case despite never having overseen a major trial. Judge Elizabeth Scherer was assigned randomly by computer. That's the system used in Broward County and throughout much of Florida. Her lack of experience will be scrutinized throughout the upcoming trial, which will determine if the 23-year-old Cruz is sentenced to death or life without parole. He pleaded guilty in October to murdering 17 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Jury selection is underway, with opening statements scheduled for next month.
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Amy Beth Bennett/AP
Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz is shown in court at the defense table with his defense attorneys, Gabe Ermine, left, and David Wheeler at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, before pleading guilty on all four criminal counts stemming from his attack on a Broward County jail guard in November 2018. Cruz is accused of punching Sgt. Ray Beltran, wrestling him to the ground and taking his stun gun. (Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun Sentinel via AP, Pool)
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