Attorneys for the Parkland school shooting suspect now say they want his entire videotaped statement with police withheld from public view.
In a pleading filed late Monday, Nikolas Cruz’s public defenders expanded their objection; previously, they objected only to the release of "the substance of (Cruz’s) confession" to a Broward sheriff’s homicide detective. Such portions of statements are already exempt from public release.
But now they want the entire 12-hour videotaped encounter with the detective withheld from the public.
In Florida, most potential evidence becomes a public record once it is given to the defense by the state, and NBC 6 and others have requested access to the materials, known as "discovery."
The defense is arguing the release of any portion of the statement "may infringe upon the defendant’s constitutional rights to a fair trial before an impartial jury due to prejudicial pretrial publicity."
It notes Judge Elizabeth Scherer may eventually rule all or part of the statement inadmissible at trial. If the material is already released, it could "taint potential jurors with inflammatory, irrelevant and prejudicial information," the Cruz attorneys assert.
Cruz, 19, is charged with 17 counts of first-degree murder and 17 counts of attempted murder, stemming from the Feb. 14 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland. The state is seeking the death penalty.
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While the motion does not explain why the defense is expanding its objections to include Cruz’s whole statement, it does note concerns - "upon further review of the interrogation" – about Cruz’s "demeanor and mental state portrayed in the interrogation the state intends to release."
It seeks to curtail potential jurors’ exposure to "negative and prejudicial conclusions based off of statement and conduct portrayed" in video that may not make it into evidence at trial, they write.
Of specific concern, his attorneys note "a defendant’s mental condition at or near the time of the alleged offense is of central relevance" to proving first-degree, premeditated murder. Statements that "bear on his lack of mental disease or infirmity bear directly on his participation in the crime and constitute a confession," the motion states.
At a June 8 hearing, called after the defense first moved to block release of the confession, Judge Scherer agreed to review the materials before deciding what, if anything, to release.
She was provided all 12 hours of the videotaped encounter with police. The state has already prepared a redacted version that it believes balances the public’s right to know and the defendant’s right not to have the substance of his confession released prior to trial.
A hearing in the case was already scheduled for Thursday and the defense is now asking for its latest motion to be heard in oral argument.
The state has not yet filed a response to the latest motion.
