The Facts
- On Monday, the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission determined that Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Scherer should be publicly reprimanded after finding she violated parts of the code of judicial conduct during the sentencing of the 2018 Parkland school shooter.
- An investigation claimed Scherer engaged in “inappropriate behavior,” including over-criticizing defense counsel and hugging prosecutors, victims, and family members after the trial's conclusion.
- The 15-member commission acknowledged that the wide publicity of the case could have “created stress and tension” for everyone involved, but it was still the judge’s duty to “act always with dignity and respect to promote” the judiciary’s impartiality.
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The Spin
Narrative A
There's a difference between partiality and humanity, and Scherer's actions clearly fell under the latter: She showed compassion toward the victims and their families of this heinous crime after the conclusion of an emotional trial — an act that shouldn't be punished. Hopefully, this doesn’t discourage judges from being sensitive in similar situations moving forward.
Narrative B
While compassion is important, a judge's duty to impartiality must come first. While well-intentioned, Scherer’s actions — including publicly clashing with the defense attorneys, accusing them of being unprofessional, and wrongly accusing an assistant of threatening her family — called into question her bias. This wasn’t the only case of her openly showing favoritism related to sentencing — a public reprimand is deserved.
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