D-333 Exhibit

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE
17TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND

FOR BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
STATE OF FLORIDA
CASE NO. 18001958CF10A
vs.
JUDGE: SCHERER
NIKOLAS JACOB CRUZ,
Defendant.
/
ATTACHMENT/EXHIBIT TO MOTION TO DISQUALIFY D-333
Attached is exhibit for defense motion D-333, Defense Motion to Disqualify:
• 09.14.22 Jury Trial Transcript, 71 pages.
I HEREBY CERTIFY that a true and correct copy of the foregoing has been furnished by
e-service to the Office of the State Attorney, MICHAEL SATZ, at [email protected],
Broward County Courthouse, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, this September 16, 2022.
GORDON WEEKES
Public Defender
17th Judicial Circuit
s/ MELISA MCNEILL
_________________________
MELISA MCNEILL
Florida Bar No. 475408
Assistant Public Defender
Attorney for the Defendant
[email protected]
(954) 831-6750
Jury Trial before Judge Scherer STATE OF FLORIDA v. NIKOLAS JACOB CRUZ
1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL

CIRCUIT IN AND FOR BROWARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
2 CASE NO. 18-001958CF10A
3
STATE OF FLORIDA,
4
Plaintiff,
5
-vs-
6
7 NIKOLAS CRUZ,
8 Defendant.
________________________________________/
9
10 - - -
11
12 JURY TRIAL BEFORE

THE HONORABLE ELIZABETH SCHERER
13
14 Wednesday, September 14, 2022

Broward County Courthouse, Courtroom 17150
15 201 Southeast 6th Street
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
16 10:00 a.m. - 11:43 a.m.
17
18
19
Stenographically Reported By:
20 PATRICIA BAILEY-ENTIN, CR
Notary Public, State of Florida
21 BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC
Fort Lauderdale Office
22 Phone - 954-745-9511
23
24
25
BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 1

1 APPEARANCES:
2 On behalf of the Plaintiff:
MICHAEL SATZ, Esquire
3 JEFF MARCUS, Esquire
NICOLE CHIAPPONE, Esquire
4 STEVEN KLINGER, Esquire
CAROLYN MCCANN, Esquire
5 Assistant State Attorneys
Office of the State Attorney
6 201 Southeast 6th Street
Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
7
8
On behalf of the Defendant:
9 MELISA MCNEILL, ESQUIRE
TAMARA CURTIS, ESQUIRE
10 NAWAL BASHIMAM, ESQUIRE
CASEY SECOR, ESQUIRE
11 DAVID WHEELER, ESQUIRE
Assistant Public Defenders
12 Broward Public Defender's Office
201 Southeast 6th Street, Suite 3872
13 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301
14
ALSO PRESENT:
15 Nikolas Cruz, defendant.
16
Aaron Savitski with the State
17 Kate O'Shea with the defense
Melissa Sly with the defense
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

1 I N D E X
2
4
- - -
5
E X H I B I T S
6
- - -
7
Number Description Page
8
State's No. 488 Photograph 24
9
State's No. 489 Photograph 24
10
11 Defendant's No. 87 Tomorrow's Rainbow Medical 7

Records
12
Defendant's No. 88 Dollar Tree Employment 7
13 Records
14 Defendant's No. 89 Medicare, Social Security 22
Records
15
Defendant's No. 90 Composite Social Security 23
16 Records- No Medicare
17 Defendant's No. 91 Dr. Musil's Medical 8
Records
18
Defendant's No. 92 Department of Children and 10
19 Family Investigative
Summary
20
Defendant's No. 93 Henderson Behavioral 15
21 Health Episode 1
22 Defendant's No. 94 Henderson Behavioral 16
Health Episode 2
23
Defendant's No. 95 Henderson Behavioral 16
24 Health Episode 3
25 Defendant's No. 96 Camelot Community Care 16
Records

1 Defendant's No. 97 Henderson Records of 17

Zachary Cruz
2
Defendant's No. 98 Lutheran Services Records 18
3 For the Lippman Shelter
For Zachary Cruz
4
Defendant's No. 99 Nikolas Cruz Disciplinary 21
5 Action Records
6
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

1 (The following proceedings were held outside the

2 presence of the jury:)
3 THE COURT: Court is back in session.
4 We have all of the jurors present. The
5 lawyers are present; the Defendant is
6 present. I have not been presented with any
7 type of pleading; so I'm going to assume
8 everyone is ready to rock and roll.
9 MS. MCCANN: Your Honor, before we get
10 started, before we rock and roll, I just
11 don't know who the defense is calling next.
12 THE COURT: Okay.
13 MS. MCCANN: But I just want to confirm
14 on the record that the defense has spoken to
15 their witness or witnesses, that they will
16 abide by this Court's prior ruling regarding
17 hearsay testimony not coming in between
18 Heather Holmes and Brenda Woodard.
19 THE COURT: Okay. I assume you've done
20 that?
21 MS. MCNEILL: Yes, ma'am.
22 THE COURT: Okay. Mr. Secor, are you
23 questioning the witness?
24 MR. SECOR: No.
25 MS. BASHIMAM: No, Judge. Before we

1 bring in the jury -- and if I could please

2 sit, because I'm having a back issue.
3 THE COURT: No problem.
4 MS. BASHIMAM: We would like to enter
5 some records, go ahead and enter them into
6 evidence now. The State has no objection.
7 THE COURT: Okay.
8 MS. BASHIMAM: They're aware. So if we
9 can go through those quickly.
10 THE COURT: Sure.
11 MR. MARCUS: I do have an objection.
12 MS. BASHIMAM: Okay.
13 MR. MARCUS: And I think it's one thing.
15 MR. MARCUS: If you want to go through
16 them one by one.
18 THE COURT: Just go ahead and read it
19 off like you're entering, and I'll ask the
20 State if they have an objection to each one,
21 like we do in front of the jury. Okay?
22 MS. BASHIMAM: Yes, Judge.
23 The first one would be -- is marked as
24 D1Z, and those are Tomorrow's Rainbow
25 medical records.

1 THE COURT: D1Z? You mean 1Z?

2 MS. BASHIMAM: Yeah. Well, yeah,
3 Defense 1Z.
4 THE COURT: I wasn't sure if you created
5 a new numbering system.
6 MS. BASHIMAM: No.
7 THE COURT: All right. 1Z --
8 MR. MARCUS: No objection.
9 THE COURT: State?
10 All right. 1Z without objection will be
11 entered as 87.
12 (Defendant's No. 87, Tomorrow's Rainbow
13 Medical Records, was received in Evidence.)
14 MS. BASHIMAM: 2B, as in "boy," Judge.
15 And those are the Dollar Tree employment
16 records.
18 THE COURT: Without objection, 2B will
19 be received as Defense 88.
20 (Defendant's No. 88, Dollar Tree
21 Employment Records, was received in
22 Evidence.)
23 MS. BASHIMAM: The next one is 2E, as in
24 "echo." And these are Medicare information
25 from Social Security Administration records.

1 MR. MARCUS: I asked to see those. I

2 don't think I have seen them yet. Can we
3 skip this one for a second?
4 MS. BASHIMAM: Sure. The next one is
5 2F.
6 THE COURT: Okay.
7 MS. BASHIMAM: Those are Social Security
8 Administration records that are not the
9 Medicare records.
10 MR. MARCUS: I wanted a moment to look
11 at those too.
12 MS. BASHIMAM: Oh, both of them? I'm
13 sorry, Mr. Marcus.
14 THE COURT: That's okay. So we'll pass
15 on 2E and F?
16 MS. BASHIMAM: Yes, ma'am.
17 So 2J, and that's Dr. Musil's medical
18 records.
20 THE COURT: 2J, without objection, will
21 be received as 91.
22 (Defendant's No. 91, Dr. Musil's Medical
23 Records, was received in Evidence.)
24 MS. BASHIMAM: The next one will be 2P,
25 as in "Paul," and that's the Department of

1 Children and Family call transcript.

2 MR. MARCUS: Judge, we object to this.
3 This is a -- just a hearsay transcript of --
4 of a -- it comes out as an anonymous person
5 calling in an abuse hotline.
6 THE COURT: Like an abuse report?
7 MR. MARCUS: It's an abuse report about
8 -- the defense knows who this is and can
9 call this witness. It's a person who's
10 given a statement saying they've called. So
11 this is an out-of-court statement that's
12 just been transcribed.
13 THE COURT: Okay. Even if you call the
14 witness, you can't ask them about an abuse
15 report. It's actually a misdemeanor if you
16 were to do that under Chapter 39.
17 So I agree that this is not admissible
18 by itself or through the witness.
19 So 2P, I'm sustaining the State's
20 objection.
21 MS. BASHIMAM: Judge, the next one is
22 2Q. And this is the Department of Children
23 and Family Investigative Summary. It is
24 their report done on an incident regarding
25 Mr. Cruz.

1 THE COURT: Does it have a reportee?

2 MS. BASHIMAM: Say it one more time?
3 THE COURT: Does it have the person who
4 reported -- first of all, State, is there
5 any objection?
6 MR. MARCUS: I don't know of any
7 confidential -- confidentiality. It just
8 says "confidential," but it's no objection
9 by us.
10 THE COURT: Okay. Without objection, 2Q
11 will be received as 92.
12 (Defendant's No. 92, Department of
13 Children and Family Investigative Summary,
14 was received in Evidence.)
15 MS. BASHIMAM: 2B, as in --
16 THE COURT: Be careful because I know
17 that not everybody in here practices in
18 dependency or has familiarity with in
19 dependency, but please be very careful about
20 asking people about abuse reports or
21 anything to that effect. That has to be
22 approved in advance by the judge who was
23 presiding over the case. There is a whole
24 bunch of rules, so please...
25 Mr. Secor, are you going to be

1 questioning the witness.

2 MR. SECOR: No, ma'am, but I understand
3 what you're saying.
4 THE COURT: Oh. Why are you standing
5 there?
6 MS. BASHIMAM: To help me.
7 THE COURT: Oh, okay.
8 Who's questioning this witness?
9 Hello?
10 MS. CURTIS: Which witness?
11 THE COURT: Your next witness.
12 MS. CURTIS: These don't have anything
13 to do with that.
14 MS. BASHIMAM: Yeah, we're just entering
15 them.
16 MS. CURTIS: These are just records.
17 We're just doing it now.
18 THE COURT: So is it a secret who is
19 going to be questioning your next witness
20 because I'm going to find out in like three
21 minutes?
22 MS. MCNEILL: No.
23 THE COURT: Who is doing it?
24 MS. MCNEILL: The records don't relate.
25 But if we call the witness, it will be me.

1 I'm assuming you're talking about --

2 THE COURT: Who is your next witness and
3 when are they being called and which
4 attorney is going to question them? Let me
5 be clear if I wasn't before.
6 Because if these don't have anything to
7 do with your next witness, then why are we
8 having a jury wait outside right now?
9 MS. MCNEILL: Just because we were
10 trying to move everything in because it --
11 in terms of timing, we'd do it now . . .
12 THE COURT: In terms of timing, it would
13 be much better to do it during the lunch
14 break when the jury needs longer than
15 you-all. So we'll go ahead and pass on
16 this.
17 Let's bring the jury in, please.
18 MS. MCNEILL: Your Honor?
19 THE COURT: Yes.
20 MS. MCNEILL: At this time the defense
21 rests.
22 MS. CURTIS: Other than putting in our
23 records.
24 THE COURT: We're not playing chess.
25 I mean, will you please take the jury

1 back in?
2 All right. Go ahead and put in your
3 records.
4 MS. BASHIMAM: 2V, Nikolas Cruz
5 Henderson Episode 1 records.
6 THE COURT: Let me just stop.
7 State, are you going to have anything
8 ready for today?
9 MR. SATZ: No.
10 MR. MARCUS: The defense last told us
11 there was 80 witnesses.
12 MR. SATZ: We're waiting for 40 more
13 witnesses.
14 THE COURT: I just want to say this is
15 the most uncalled for, unprofessional way to
16 try a case. You-all knew about this. And
17 even if you didn't make your decision until
18 this morning, to have 22 people, plus all of
19 the staff and every attorney march into
20 court, be waiting as if it's some kind of
21 game -- now I have to send them home.
22 The State's not ready. They're not
23 going to have a witness ready. We have
24 another day wasted. I just -- I --
25 honestly, I have never experienced a level

1 of unprofessionalism in my career. It's

2 unbelievable.
3 MS. MCNEILL: So, Judge, you asked -- if
4 we had any pretrial matters, you asked us to
5 be here at 9:15. We were here at 9:15 to
6 discuss pretrial matters.
7 I have been practicing in this county
8 for 22 years --
9 THE COURT: You know what? I don't want
10 to hear it. I don't want to hear it.
11 MS. MCNEILL: Well, Judge, you're
12 insulting me on the record in front of my
13 client, and I believe that I should be able
14 to defend myself.
15 THE COURT: Okay. You can do that
16 later, you can make your record later, but
17 you have been insulting me the entire trial,
18 so -- blatantly. Taking your headphones
19 off. Arguing with me. Storming out.
20 Coming late intentionally if you don't like
21 my rulings.
22 So, quite frankly, this has been long
23 overdue; so please be seated. You can
24 receive the evidence. I will receive the
25 evidence, and then you can put whatever you

1 want on the record at the end.

2 Go ahead.
3 MS. BASHIMAM: 2V, which is Nikolas Cruz
4 Henderson records Episode 1.
5 THE COURT: I'm sorry?
6 MS. BASHIMAM: Episode 1, Henderson
7 records for Nikolas Cruz.
8 THE CLERK: 2V.
9 THE COURT: 2V?
10 MS. BASHIMAM: I'm sorry. 2V, as in
11 "Victor."
12 THE COURT: Is there any objection to
13 2V, as in "Victor"?
14 MR. MARCUS: I'm sorry. What was that
15 name again, please?
16 MR. SATZ: 2V.
17 MR. SECOR: Oh, Henderson Behavioral
18 Health Episode 1.
19 MR. MARCUS: That's fine.
20 THE COURT: Without objection, 2V will
22 (Defendant's No. 93, Henderson
23 Behavioral Health Episode 1, was received in
24 Evidence.)
25 MS. BASHIMAM: 2W, Henderson records

1 Episode 2.
3 2W?
4 MR. MARCUS: No, Your Honor.
5 THE COURT: 2W, without objection, will
9 Evidence.)
10 MS. BASHIMAM: 2X, Henderson records
11 Episode 3.
13 2X?
15 THE COURT: 2X will be received as 95.
18 Evidence.)
19 MS. BASHIMAM: 3A, Camelot Community
20 Care records.
22 3A?
24 THE COURT: 3A will be received as 96.
25 (Defendant's No. 96, Camelot Community

1 Care Records, was received in Evidence.)

2 MS. BASHIMAM: 3W, Henderson records of
3 Zachary Cruz.
5 THE COURT: 3W, without objection, will
7 (Defendant's No. 97, Henderson Records
8 of Zachary Cruz, was received in Evidence.)
9 MS. BASHIMAM: 3X, Lutheran Services
10 records for the Lippman Shelter for Zachary
11 Cruz.
12 THE COURT: And you're certain that none
13 of these have any references to abuse
14 reports or anything?
15 MS. BASHIMAM: Yes.
16 THE COURT: Because a lot of times kids
17 are sent to Lippman as a result of that.
18 MS. BASHIMAM: That was not the reason.
19 THE COURT: Okay. But you've reviewed
20 them, and there's nothing about caller or
21 anything like that? I don't want to get
22 anyone into trouble, including myself.
23 All right. Is there any objection to
24 3X?

1 THE COURT: 3X will be received as 98.

2 (Defendant's No. 98, Lutheran Services
3 Records For the Lippman Shelter For Zachary
4 Cruz, was received in Evidence.)
5 MS. BASHIMAM: And then 4S as in "Sam,"
6 Nikolas Cruz disciplinary action records.
7 MR. MARCUS: So, Your Honor, with this
8 particular record, this is pertaining to the
9 attack on Sergeant Beltran at the jail.
10 Now, in this record --
11 THE COURT: I thought you had school
12 records.
13 MS. BASHIMAM: No. Disciplinary action
14 records. I didn't make it clear.
15 THE COURT: I assumed that was a school
16 thing.
17 Okay. Sorry. Go ahead.
18 MR. MARCUS: So on this record, it says
19 that the Defendant invoked his Miranda
20 Rights, and ordinarily that might be an
21 issue. And so that the record is clear that
22 this is a trial strategy by the defense and
23 the Defendant himself agrees, if he asked
24 for that to be left out, it would be left
25 out because it's telling the jury that he

1 invoked a constitutional right --

2 THE COURT: Right.
3 MR. MARCUS: -- and he has the right not
4 to have that before this jury.
5 THE COURT: I understand.
6 MR. MARCUS: And so in this record,
7 that's what it says.
8 THE COURT: Okay. Have you reviewed
9 this with your client?
10 MR. SECOR: Yes, ma'am. I have a
11 waiver. If I may approach?
12 MS. BASHIMAM: We have a waiver. The
13 State hasn't seen it, Casey --
14 MR. SECOR: Oh.
15 MS. BASHIMAM: -- I don't think.
16 THE COURT: Let me read it really quick.
18 THE COURT: All right. Do you want to
19 show that to the State, please?
20 MR. SECOR: Yes, ma'am.
21 MR. MARCUS: Your Honor, I appreciate
22 the defense did this waiver. It does not
23 explicitly refer to the Miranda warnings on
24 the document. The waiver is fine if the
25 Court wants to inquire that he knowingly,

1 intelligently is understanding that the jury

2 is going to know that he invoked a
3 constitutional right --
4 THE COURT: Okay.
5 MR. MARCUS: -- that he doesn't need to.
6 THE COURT: Mr. Cruz, please raise your
7 right hand.
8 NIKOLAS CRUZ,
9 having been first duly sworn or affirmed, was
10 examined and testified as follows:
11 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, ma'am.
12 THE COURT: Thank you. You can put your
13 hand down.
14 Sir, it's my understanding that there's
15 a reference in this document from the jail,
16 the disciplinary records, that indicates you
17 invoked your Miranda rights. That was with
18 -- that wasn't with Detective Curcio, that
19 was with -- regarding the jail incident.
20 When they asked to take a statement,
21 that is something that the jury at this
22 point would not hear. Actually, because it
23 relates to the jail incident, they would
24 never hear that.
25 THE DEFENDANT: Okay.

1 THE COURT: They're not entitled to hear

2 that. That's a right that you can invoke,
3 and nobody is allowed to mention it. And if
4 they did, it would be a big issue.
5 So are you waiving -- we can take that
6 part out of the report if you so choose.
7 Are you waiving the right to redact the
8 fact that you invoked your Miranda warnings?
10 THE COURT: Okay. Have you had enough
11 time to speak to your lawyers about that
12 decision?
13 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, I have.
14 THE COURT: And has anyone pressured or
15 coerced you into making that decision?
16 THE DEFENDANT: No, ma'am.
17 THE COURT: Okay. I'm going to find
18 that the Defendant is making a knowing,
19 intelligent, and voluntary waiver of his
20 right to have the jury not hear or consider
21 the fact that his Miranda warnings were
22 invoked with regard to the jail incident.
23 So 4S without objection will be received
24 as 99.
25 (Defendant's No. 99, Nikolas Cruz

1 Disciplinary Action Records, was received in

2 Evidence.)
3 MS. BASHIMAM: That's all of them,
4 Judge.
5 THE COURT: So we skipped --
6 MS. BASHIMAM: Oh, wait. Yes. So 2E
7 will be the Medicare, Social Security
8 records.
10 THE COURT: 2E will be received as 100,
11 Defense 100 without objection. We also
12 skipped, I believe, 2F.
13 (Pause in proceedings.)
14 THE COURT: I stand corrected. Thank
15 you, Madam Clerk.
16 2E will be received as 89.
17 (Defendant's No. 89, Medicare, Social
18 Security Records, was received in Evidence.)
19 MS. BASHIMAM: And then the Social
20 Security Administration records that do not
21 include the Medicare information.
22 THE COURT: 2F -- State, have you had a
23 chance to review 2F?
24 MR. MARCUS: Yes.
25 THE COURT: And do you have an

1 objection?
2 MR. MARCUS: No.
3 THE COURT: All right. 2F will be
4 received as Defense Composite Exhibit 90.
5 (Defendant's No. 90, Composite Social
6 Security Records- No Medicare, was received
7 in Evidence.)
8 THE COURT: So there's 99 total. Just
9 to double-check, please.
10 MS. BASHIMAM: Yes, ma'am.
11 MR. MARCUS: Judge, while we're moving
12 stuff in --
13 THE COURT: Okay.
14 MR. MARCUS: -- the defense has already
15 seen -- this is two photographs that were
16 used in the Finai Browd perpetuation, and --
17 THE COURT: Okay.
18 MR. MARCUS: -- we never actually moved
19 them in.
20 THE COURT: Okay.
21 MR. MARCUS: The defense has seen it.
22 So State would move 26E and 26F for
23 identification into evidence.
24 THE COURT: Defense, do you have any
25 objection?

1 MR. SECOR: No, ma'am.

2 THE COURT: I don't know who is the
3 point person.
4 26E will be received as State's 488.
5 (State's No. 488, Photograph, was received in
6 Evidence.)
7 THE COURT: And 26F for identification
8 will be received without objection as --
9 someone did say "no objection"?
10 MR. SECOR: Yes, ma'am, I did.
11 THE COURT: Thank you.
12 489.
13 (State's No. 489, Photograph, was marked for
14 identification.)
15 MR. MARCUS: Your Honor, the State is
16 going to ask for an extended colloquy of the
17 Defendant. We're going to need a few
18 minutes to get together the list of defense
19 witnesses that they're not calling --
20 THE COURT: Okay.
21 MR. MARCUS: -- or could call so that
22 there's no question that it's a knowing and
23 intelligent decision and the Defendant has
24 no objections to this strategy.
25 THE COURT: Okay. So we'll just take a

1 recess, and you-all can let me know when

2 you're ready.
3 Also, when you're doing that, if you can
4 please try to figure out when you can -- I
5 assume you're putting on a rebuttal.
6 MR. SATZ: Yes.
7 THE COURT: I don't know that for sure,
8 but I saw your doctor here yesterday.
9 Do you have any idea when you can start
10 that?
11 MR. SATZ: No. I mean, we got to start
12 thinking about it.
13 MR. MARCUS: We have to make some phone
14 calls.
15 THE COURT: Okay. And the defense needs
16 to rest in front of the jury, but I think
17 it's important that I colloquy Mr. Cruz
18 before they do that.
19 So let's take -- what do you think? --
20 30 minutes? 45 minutes?
21 MS. MCCANN: Your Honor, I think I'm
22 going to take some time. The defense filed
23 a witness list. They told the Court that
24 they were going to be calling 80 witnesses.
25 So we have to go through the witness list.

1 We have to go -- the defense is going to

2 have to go through and put together the 80
3 witnesses that they said they were going to
4 be calling.
5 THE COURT: Okay.
6 MS. MCCANN: It has to be carefully
7 done. This has to be meticulous.
8 THE COURT: Okay.
9 MS. MCCANN: I don't think -- what I'm
10 saying is, Judge, I don't think that this
11 can be done in 30 minutes.
13 MS. MCCANN: I don't think it's
14 reasonable to give the jurors -- to say to
15 them to be back in 30 minutes.
17 So here's my next question: I would
18 like to be able, before I excuse them, to
19 tell them when they have to be back because
20 they're going to need -- I give them at the
21 end of each week written documentation for
22 their employers. So I'm going to have to do
23 that.
24 And I just hate releasing them
25 without -- I don't remember if any of the

1 ones that are actually serving were ones

2 that were sometimes hard to get ahold of. I
3 really would like to be able to give them
4 something in writing of when they need to
5 come back. So at least if you-all could --
6 MS. MCCANN: Could I confer with my
7 colleagues, Your Honor?
8 THE COURT: Sure.
9 In other words, Ms. McCann, if you-all
10 need 30 minutes to get this part together,
11 then I can call them in, have the defense
12 rest. I can excuse the jurors, and I can
13 colloquy Mr. Cruz after I excuse the jurors.
14 MS. MCCANN: Okay.
15 THE COURT: Do you see what I'm saying?
16 MS. MCCANN: I do, Your Honor.
17 THE COURT: And then if I'm not
18 satisfied with the colloquy, we can always
19 deal with that later; but rather than having
20 them sit back there until you can get all of
21 that accomplished -- which might be this
22 afternoon, I'm assuming . . .
23 MS. MCCANN: For planning purposes,
24 Your Honor --
25 THE COURT: Okay.

1 MS. MCCANN: -- and this is based upon,

2 you know, just finding this out because, you
3 know, we were told last night that there
4 were two witnesses for today. And that's
5 what we were planning on, and that's what we
6 prepared for and went through this morning
7 asking if they had advised their witnesses
8 about -- you know, abiding by this Court's
9 orders and they said yes, with no indication
10 that they were resting. And that's fine.
11 If that's their strategy, that's fine. But
12 we just have to put that on the record.
13 But, Your Honor, for purposes of the
14 State now planning the rebuttal, which is
15 substantial, we would like to have a break
16 so that we can inform -- so that we can put
17 together the colloquy that needs to be
18 conducted for the Defendant, inform the jury
19 or let the Defendant rest in front of the
20 jury. Let the State contact our rebuttal
21 witnesses, put it together. And we would
22 like to resume, if possible, Your Honor, on
23 Monday, September 26th.
24 MR. MARCUS: That's a holiday.
25 MS. MCCANN: Oh, we're off the 26th?

1 I'm sorry, Your Honor. It's a holiday.

2 Tuesday, the 27th.
3 THE COURT: You need that much time?
4 MS. MCCANN: Yes.
5 THE COURT: The reason I want the
6 defense to rest in front of the jurors is
7 because I would like to be able to explain
8 to them why I now have to -- I don't know if
9 you-all are aware, but we're running out of
10 time. We have a pregnant juror, very
11 pregnant. We also have a few of them with
12 family members with COVID, and I'm worried
13 that . . .
14 MS. MCCANN: Well, Your Honor, even if
15 we resume at the end of next week, which
16 would be Thursday the 22nd, we would still
17 be out of court on Monday the 26th.
18 And the State is anticipating it would
19 take at least a week for us to put on our
20 case in rebuttal; so no matter what, Your
21 Honor, we look like we're going into the
22 last week of September.
23 THE COURT: Okay.
24 MS. MCCANN: So if we can start on the
25 27th, we could -- we can get it done and not

1 ask for more time.

3 MS. MCCANN: Your Honor, if we're able
4 to contact our witnesses and get them in
5 earlier, we can start earlier.
6 THE COURT: Okay.
7 MS. MCCANN: Realizing that it's a
8 Jewish holiday on the 26th of September and
9 some people may have travel plans --
10 THE COURT: Sure.
11 MS. MCCANN: -- if you allow us that
12 flexibility, we will certainly try and get
13 people in, witnesses in earlier if we're
14 able to. But, you know, we're thinking the
15 27th, but if we can get people in earlier,
16 then we can start earlier. Thursday of next
17 week is the 22nd.
18 MR. MARCUS: Your Honor, perhaps if you
19 advise them of the --
20 THE COURT: I mean, these people have
21 been extremely patient. I just don't want
22 to say, "Come back on the 27th."
23 Is there a reason why I can't have
24 you-all rest today and colloquy your client
25 later? I don't know who the point person --

1 who's the point person?

2 MS. MCNEILL: That's fine, Judge.
3 MR. MARCUS: Never mind, Your Honor.
4 MR. SATZ: We're okay.
5 THE COURT: Okay. So I'm going to bring
6 them in.
7 October 5th is a court holiday.
8 MS. MCCANN: So the -- Your Honor, so
9 the 27th --
10 THE COURT: Okay.
11 MS. MCCANN: -- if we could start then.
12 If you could advise the jury of the 27th,
13 please.
14 THE COURT: Okay. Just to -- I know --
15 obviously nobody knows how long exactly
16 something is going to take, but you said you
17 think your rebuttal will be approximately a
18 week?
19 MR. SATZ: Yes.
20 THE COURT: Okay. So . . .
21 MS. CURTIS: Judge, I emailed your JA.
22 I do have a doctor's appointment on the
23 30th of September at, like, 11:30. I don't
24 know whether -- I mean, I could maybe get
25 back by 1:30 to do an afternoon, but . . .

1 THE COURT: That's okay. Is that --

2 that's a Friday?
3 MS. CURTIS: Yes, ma'am.
4 THE COURT: So we could start at 1:30,
5 you think?
6 MS. CURTIS: I would hope so. It's at
7 Broward, which is right here; so . . .
8 THE COURT: Like any other doctor's
9 appointment --
10 MS. CURTIS: I know.
11 THE COURT: -- at Broward.
12 You said it's at 11:00-something?
13 11:30?
14 MS. CURTIS: 11:30.
15 THE COURT: All right. So do you-all
16 think it would be prudent to estimate that
17 the State will be begin presenting its
18 rebuttal on the 27th. We'll go through the
19 28th, the 29th. The 30th will be a half
20 day. And then the 5th is a court holiday,
21 with the estimation that the State would
22 finish its rebuttal by October 7th, which is
23 a Friday? Do you think that would be a
24 reasonable estimate?
25 MR. SATZ: I think that's reasonable,

1 Your Honor, and we will try to do that.

2 THE COURT: Okay. And then -- so I can
3 tell them that we anticipate closing
4 arguments being the week of October 10th?
5 MR. SATZ: Okay.
6 THE COURT: Am I forgetting something?
7 And I know jury instructions and that
8 will take a while, but if I can just give
9 them that estimate, do you-all think that
10 that's accurate or as best as it can be?
11 Ms. McNeill?
12 MS. MCNEILL: Yes, Judge. We'll be
13 ready to close after they rest.
14 THE COURT: So what I'm going to do is
15 I'm going to prepare these orders for the
16 jurors. It's going to take me a few
17 minutes. And I'm going to prepare a
18 tentative calendar with the dates before
19 they come back in.
20 And then the defense will rest, and then
21 I'll excuse the jurors. And then we can
22 come back later this afternoon, if you want,
23 and I can colloquy the Defendant because you
24 said that you want to get with the defense
25 on that.

1 MS. MCCANN: Yes, Your Honor.

2 THE COURT: Okay. Is that acceptable to
3 the defense?
4 MS. MCNEILL: Yes, Your Honor.
5 THE COURT: All right. Give me just one
6 second. Actually, I'm going to need about
7 15 minutes to do this; so we can be in
8 recess until 10:45.
9 (Off the record from 10:28 a.m. to 10:53
10 a.m., after which the following proceedings were
11 held outside the presence of the jury:)
12 THE COURT: I'm waiting on the sheriff's
13 office to make photocopies on the calendar,
14 and then we will be ready.
15 MS. CURTIS: Judge, I just spoke with
16 Ms. McCann. So they want to do whatever
17 their thing is without the witnesses being
18 called. We're going to be filing a motion
19 in limine in terms of limiting the State's
20 rebuttal.
21 THE COURT: Okay.
22 MS. CURTIS: And we -- I asked her if I
23 were to file it tomorrow, when would she be
24 ready? And so we were thinking we can all
25 come back and do all of that on Monday, if

1 the Court is available?

2 THE COURT: That's fine with me.
3 MS. CURTIS: Okay.
4 THE COURT: Because I need to colloquy
5 him as to other things too, like the fact
6 that he's not going to take the witness
7 stand and all of the normal --
9 THE COURT: -- things that you would --
10 when I say "normal," I mean, in a
11 non-penalty trial, in any criminal trial,
12 all of the things that I would go over.
14 THE COURT: I sort of haven't thought of
15 that because there's specific things that go
16 to a penalty phase; so that's fine. We can
17 come back on Monday. What time?
18 MS. MCCANN: Monday afternoon.
19 THE COURT: That would be perfect.
20 Monday at 1:30.
21 MS. MCCANN: Thanks.
22 THE COURT: And we'll put that on the
23 docket, and that gives us time so all of the
24 staff can be ready.
25 So just while we're waiting, I believe

1 what we said, now that I have written it out

2 on the calendar, is that you-all will close
3 and they'll start deliberating the week of
4 the 10th barring any unforeseen
5 circumstances.
6 MR. SATZ: Hope so, yeah.
7 THE COURT: Okay.
8 MS. CURTIS: Judge, I don't know if I
9 need -- when we e-serve the motion, should
10 we send that to your email also and not just
11 Nichole?
12 THE COURT: She is checking her email.
13 MS. CURTIS: Oh.
14 THE COURT: But she doesn't technically
15 have to be because she's on medical leave.
16 MS. CURTIS: Okay.
17 THE COURT: So if you can send it to me
18 also, that would be great.
19 MS. MCCANN: Your Honor, in an abundance
20 of caution, and I know this sounds
21 nitpicking, but --
22 THE COURT: Okay.
23 MS. MCCANN: -- having the defense rest
24 before the Defendant is colloquied is
25 probably not the best procedure to follow.

1 THE COURT: Well, then why don't I do a

2 general colloquy? Because I have to be able
3 to tell these jurors why I'm excusing them
4 on a Wednesday at 10:57 in the morning and
5 they're not coming back for -- I don't know
6 how many days, but -- 12 days, or they're
7 going to think that I'm just inconsiderate
8 of their time.
9 MR. MARCUS: We can list some witnesses.
10 MS. MCCANN: We can.
11 And if I could suggest, Your Honor, that
12 there were representations made by the
13 defense that there were going to be 80
14 witnesses called, and if you would kindly
15 express that to the Defendant.
16 There was medical testimony -- there
17 were statements made in opening, statements
18 by Ms. McNeill regarding evidence that was
19 going to be brought out that is apparently
20 not going to be brought out. And we can go
21 over the doctors and whatnot that were
22 listed. We can go through that later. But
23 I think it's really crucial that there's
24 some colloquy with specificity now.
25 THE COURT: Okay.

1 MR. SECOR: Judge, may I just have

2 60 seconds to make an objection to the
3 colloquy?
4 THE COURT: Sure.
5 MR. SECOR: I'd be relying on United
6 States v. Jeffrey Van De Walker, 141 F.3d
7 1451. And essentially the argument is that
8 there is no law supporting the fact that the
9 Court should question the Defendant
10 regarding his agreement with the defense
11 decision to rest at this point.
12 His constitutional decisions that he's
13 to tell whether to plead, whether to
14 testify, and whether to appeal -- according
15 to this case that I just cited, having the
16 Court inquire into strategic decisions made
17 by the defense invades the attorney-client
18 privilege and his right to effective
19 assistance of counsel under the Sixth
20 Amendment of the United States Constitution.
21 Thank you.
22 THE COURT: Thank you.
23 MS. MCCANN: And, Your Honor, we're not
24 trying to invade attorney-client privilege
25 here. We're just trying to protect the

1 record and protect the Defendant's rights

2 and make sure that we can go to the next
3 step of these proceedings as what would
4 normally be done, Your Honor.
5 And this is done in every other case
6 where we have a penalty phase and witnesses
7 are listed and not all of them are called.
8 In case the Defendant is sentenced to
9 death, this will come up on a 3.851, and we
10 want to be sure that the record is intact.
11 THE COURT: I agree.
12 Mr. Cruz, please raise your right hand.
13 Do you solemnly -- actually. I already
14 put you under oath this morning. So you're
15 still under oath. Do you understand that?
17 THE COURT: Okay. Sir, your lawyers
18 have indicated that you're going to rest
19 your case. That means that they're not
20 going to call any additional witnesses.
21 Have you had the opportunity to discuss
22 this decision with your lawyers?
23 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, I have.
24 THE COURT: And have you had enough time
25 to consider this decision?

1 THE DEFENDANT: Yes.

2 THE COURT: Are you comfortable with
3 this decision?
5 THE COURT: Is there any witness that
6 you know of, either listed or not listed,
7 that you feel needs to be called by your
8 lawyer or lawyers that has not already been
9 called?
11 THE COURT: And do you understand we had
12 a motion about your brother testifying, and
13 his lawyer came and we had a hearing on it,
14 and based on your decision to rest, your
15 brother is not going to be testifying?
16 Do you understand that?
17 THE DEFENDANT: I understand.
18 THE COURT: Do you understand that at a
19 later time you can't come back and say,
20 "Hey, my brother was supposed to testify"?
21 The courts are going to tell you that
22 you waived that right to have your brother
23 and any other listed or not listed witness
24 testify in this matter. Do you understand?

1 THE COURT: And do you understand you

2 would have the opportunity to testify if you
3 so chose?
5 THE COURT: Do you understand by resting
6 you're telling me "Judge, I don't want to
7 testify in this case"?
8 THE DEFENDANT: That's correct.
9 THE COURT: And I will instruct the jury
10 that they may not consider that in any way
11 whatsoever because that's your right under
12 the constitution; however, I need to make
13 sure that you are comfortable with that
14 decision.
15 Are you comfortable --
17 THE COURT: -- with your decision?
19 THE COURT: Has anyone threatened or
20 coerced you into making that decision?
22 THE COURT: And you've had an ample time
23 to discuss with your lawyers the pros and
24 cons of all of your decisions that you're
25 making here with them today?


2 THE COURT: And do you feel that they've
3 included you in these -- in the decisions
4 that are specific to your case?
6 MS. MCCANN: And, Your Honor, if I could
7 --
8 THE COURT: Sure.
9 MS. MCCANN: -- just take a few minutes.
10 The State filed a witness list. The
11 defense, in doing their witness list, said
12 they would be filing -- or they would adopt
13 any witnesses on the State witness list, and
14 that's already a part of record, but if I
15 could read off these witnesses. I know it
16 will take a few minutes, but I think it's
17 time well spent.
18 THE COURT: Actually, the names -- and
19 you can read whatever names, but you should
20 know that the names of the potential
21 witnesses that the defense was very adamant
22 about me reading was in upwards of -- what?
23 -- 2,000 names.
24 MS. MCCANN: Yes. They were -- they
25 were read at the beginning of the case, but

1 this is the defense witness list. And

2 there's not 2,000 on here, but if I could --
3 THE COURT: It's a more specific list?
4 MS. MCCANN: Yes, Your Honor. If you
5 would just indulge.
6 THE COURT: Absolutely.
7 Mr. Cruz, you're listening; right?
9 THE COURT: You look like you're
10 listening. I just need to make sure.
11 Okay. The State's going to read off the
12 witnesses. Please pay attention because if
13 there's any name of a person that you may
14 not realize right now wasn't called or you
15 may not have thought about it -- and you may
16 say, "Wait a minute."
17 And if you need additional time to speak
18 to your lawyers, if you need additional time
19 to think about it, you let me know. Okay?
20 THE DEFENDANT: I will.
21 THE COURT: All right. Thank you.
22 Whenever you're ready, Ms. McCann.
23 MS. MCCANN: Okay. Thank you.
24 Deborah Gray. Kevin Aaron. Dr. Richard
25 Adler. David Agusti. Victoria Alvarez.

1 Albert Anderson. Richard Anton. Jessica

2 Appel-Quitoni. Ted Arboleda. Justin
3 Augustus. George Austin. Dr. Lisa Avery.
4 Geraldine Avila.
5 Ashley Baez. I'm sorry. She was a
6 State -- Baez -- she was a State witness.
7 Shari Baillargeon. Jeanine Scott
8 Barela. Julian Barrionuevo. Paul
9 Battaglia. Clover Beauduay. Brian Behan.
10 Melissa Belizaire. Regina Bellot. David
11 Belzar. Ben Bennight. Dr. Pradeep Bhide.
12 Jarred Bienenfeld. Dr. David Black. Dwayne
13 Black. Kirk Blackson. Cathy Blaine.
14 Cameron Blanchard. Rebecca Bogart. Tara
15 Bone. Jorge Bonilla. Elliot Bonner.
16 Dr. Natalie Novick-Brown. Jonathan Brown.
17 Frank Bulger. Timothy Burton. Vanessa
18 Burton. Alfred Butler.
19 Christopher Caldwell. Lisa Campbell.
20 Giovanna Cantone. Ina Cantone. Francis
21 Capre. Corey Carbocci. Giuliana Carroin.
22 Dr. Wesley Center. Scott Champagne.
23 Leonard Charla. Graciela Chemerinsky. Eric
24 Cheng. Brian Chiles. Dallas Chisholm.
25 Moises Cobo. Amy Cohen. Dr. Debra Collins.

1 Roberto Colon. Heather Conner. Deborah

2 Cooper. Christian Crawford. Danielle
3 Crawford. Anna Crean. Zachary Cruz.
4 Jeffrey Curtis.
5 Zachary Davies. Felice Winston-Davis.
6 Kim Davis. Tanesha Dawkins. Jessica
7 DeCarlo. Jack Dechene. Nicholas DeFroscia.
8 Nicholas Degiovanni. Anna Del Barrio. Rick
9 Delgado. Dominic Dimartino. David Dittman.
10 Ian Doriot. Bryan Dougherty. Marianne
11 Dubin. Anthony Dubois. Hunter Dubois.
12 Camille Dumornay.
13 Edward Eason. Aalayah Eastmond.
14 Gregory Edlund. Sharon Ehrlich.
15 Christopher Fahey. Kevin Fanti. Ameen
16 Farraj. Jeffrey Feduik. Agustin Felman.
17 Derek Fernandez. Todd Fitzgerald. Kami
18 Floyd. Erin Foley. Latonya Fondren.
19 Walter Foster. Jason Foti. Cliff Frommer.
20 Carlos Gambino. Pam Galen. Anthony
21 Garcia. Destiny Garcia. Gerard Garcia.
22 David Gariepy. Georgia Garnecki. Marni
23 Garvey. Alfred Gehres. Marcy Geller.
24 Angelica Gilmartin. Emily Goldstein.
25 Carmen Gonzalez. Lee Gordon. Louis Gordon.

1 Sherea Green. Sarah Greenberg. Kyle Green.

2 Kevin -- Kelvin Greenleaf. Raziel Gridi.
3 Joelle Guarino. Zachary Guarino. Alyssa
4 Guermes. Treijs Guntis. Kervens Gustave.
5 Mary Hamel-Theall. Georgette Hamm.
6 Jeff Heinrich. Meena Hierholzer. Meghan
7 Hill. Dwight Hodgson. David -- excuse me.
8 Richard Hoffman. Laurel Holland. Heather
9 Holmes. Dr. Heather Holmes. Dr. Tobi Sue
10 Hoppe. Germano Horace. Walter Howard.
11 Nicholas Iarriccio. Erica Polajenko
12 Iraheta. Kathy Jackson-Hunsucker. Brittany
13 Jacobs. Susan Jacobson. Alicia Jaramillo.
14 Steven Johnson. Hank Juntunen. Anthony
15 Katsikis. Rona Kelly. Michael Kenny.
16 Robert Kenny. Philipe Khaleel. Francine
17 Kirman. Stephen Kominsky. Michael Kratz.
18 Kimberly Krawczyk. Christa Krzeminski.
19 Timothy Langelier. David Lara. Michael
20 Leonard. Amanda Levison. Michael Libes.
21 Antonio Lindsay. Bruce Link. Ross Lopatin.
22 Martha Luthin. Jamie Lyons.
23 Christina MacDonald. James Maclean.
24 Lucas Magalhaes. Peter Mahmood. Tanesha
25 Maiten. Ariel Maldanado. Louis Marchese.

1 Sarah Margolis. Michael Matienzo. Chris

2 Matthew. Nicholas Mazzei. Steven
3 McCutcheon. Christopher McKenna. Andrew
4 Medina. Oluwasey Mekinde. Joan Menke.
5 Erick Mesia. Timothy Metz. Nicolette
6 Michiotta. Robyn Mickow. Alexa Miednik.
7 Brad Mock. Gale Monahan. Gill Monzon.
8 Richard Moore. Dorothy More. Jacoby More.
9 Jeff Morford. Carlos Muvdi. Scott Myers.
10 Amy Nast. Matthew Navratil. Kevin
11 Nitsch. Barbara Noe. Ryan O'Malley. Roger
12 Oprea. Nyrma Ortiz. Carinna Osio.
13 Joseph Parsons. Valerian Perez.
14 Georgie Peschiera. Scot Peterson. Vincent
15 Peterson. Joelle Philamar. Jeffrey
16 Podwika. Kypps Poliard. Winfred Porter.
17 Records Custodian of Palm Beach County
18 Sheriff's Office who's unnamed.
19 Denise Reed. Dione Reed. Johmie Reid.
20 Sandra Rennie. Christina Reyes. James
21 Reyes. Phillip Reynolds. Reid Ricard.
22 Steven Robson. Juan Rodriguez. Gusto
23 Rodriguez. Mark Rogge. Lauren Rubenstein.
24 Enea Sabadini. Jodi Samson. Melynda
25 Sanchez. George Schmidt. Michael Sepot.

1 Daniella Shaw. Steven Sincoff. Lexi Smith.

2 Madeline Snyder. Dr. Lawrence Steinberg.
3 Christian Swinson.
4 David Taylor. Gerald Turmaine.
5 Marie Michaelle Valburn-Hope. Janna
6 Volz. Michael Wagner. Kelly Walker.
7 Steven Wexler. Bryan Wilkins. Clint
8 Williams. Joshua Willis. Felice
9 Winston-Davis. Christopher Wirth. Billy
10 Ray Woodard. Chance Woodard.
11 Jacob Zalka. Erick Zamora.
12 Anyone else? And that -- those are the
13 witnesses, Your Honor, that the defense has
14 chosen to forgo, and that it should just be
15 on the record that those witnesses were
16 listed and they have chosen not to call
17 them.
18 THE COURT: Okay.
19 Mr. Cruz, I saw that you were paying
20 attention when the State was reading the
21 names. Those names were also read by me to
22 the jurors. Are there any -- any of those
23 people that you feel need to be called
24 before you rest?
25 THE DEFENDANT: I don't know who those

1 people are, and I trust my lawyers.

2 THE COURT: I'm sorry?
3 THE DEFENDANT: I don't know who those
4 people are, and I trust my lawyers.
5 THE COURT: I can't hear the second
6 part.
7 THE DEFENDANT: I said, "I don't know
8 who those people, and I trust my lawyers."
9 THE COURT: Well, you know who Zachary
10 Cruz is.
11 THE DEFENDANT: Yeah, that's my brother.
12 THE COURT: And there was -- what was
13 the --
14 MS. MCCANN: Richard -- Richard Moore.
15 THE COURT: You know Richard Moore.
16 THE DEFENDANT: Those are pretty much
17 the only two people I recognized.
18 THE COURT: Well, you've heard Dr.
19 Heather Holmes because she's been -- we've
20 litigated, I don't know, every single day.
21 You know Dr. Holmes?
22 THE DEFENDANT: I believe so, yeah.
23 THE COURT: Okay. And you know --
24 obviously, the doctors who evaluated you --
25 you know those doctors; correct?

1 THE DEFENDANT: I don't know their

2 names.
3 THE COURT: Okay. But you would know --
4 you know who they are. You could say, "The
5 doctor with, you know, the mustache who came
6 in and asked me X, Y, and Z, why aren't you
7 calling that doctor?"
8 Even if you don't remember the name, you
9 know who the person is; correct?
10 THE DEFENDANT: I believe so, yeah.
11 THE COURT: Okay. So is there any
12 doctor that you met with or any doctor that
13 you recall that you feel needs to be called
14 in your case?
16 THE COURT: And many of those were BSO
17 deputies. Is there any BSO officer that you
18 feel needs to be called that hasn't been
19 called?
21 THE COURT: So there were doctors.
22 There were BSO deputies. There were --
23 MS. MCCANN: Civilians, Your Honor.
24 THE COURT: I don't know the context of
25 the civilians because I'm not privy to all

1 of the discovery like you-all are but . . .

2 MS. MCCANN: And, Your Honor, these are
3 witnesses that the defense has had
4 investigators work up this case. They have
5 vetted the witnesses, chosen who to put on
6 their witness list. They made a strategic
7 decision at this point to -- to -- as to
8 what witnesses were effective in front of
9 the jury, and assumably they've done this to
10 make an effective presentation, and it's
11 their decision to rest at this time.
12 THE COURT: Okay. So here's the bottom
13 line, Mr. Cruz: I understand you don't
14 remember all those names, because I don't
15 remember all of the names.
16 MS. MCCANN: And, Your Honor, if I could
17 interrupt one moment.
18 THE COURT: Sure.
19 MS. MCCANN: If the Defendant would like
20 to take a moment and speak with his lawyers,
21 if he has any questions about any of the
22 names that I have read off, that's agreeable
23 to the State.
24 THE COURT: Sure. I'm just going to --
25 just give me one minute, and I will do that.

1 So Mr. Cruz, even though you maybe don't

2 know the person by name, if there's any
3 person that you remember, either meeting
4 with or talking with your attorneys about,
5 anything to that effect, you could always
6 describe the person to your lawyer as in
7 where -- what happened to this person or
8 what happened to that person.
9 Is there any person that you recall
10 being listed as a witness or having met with
11 or having discussed that you may not know
12 their name but you know who they are and you
13 feel that that person needs to be called?
14 THE DEFENDANT: No. I think we're good.
15 THE COURT: Okay. So I'm going to give
16 you a few minutes to speak to your lawyers
17 in private, okay, so you can make absolute
18 sure.
19 Would you put the white noise on,
20 please.
22 MS. MCCANN: Your Honor, I apologize.
23 Mr. Marcus had to excuse himself. If we can
24 just . . .
25 THE COURT: Oh. I didn't realize that.

1 Sure. We can wait.

3 THE COURT: Do you-all want more white
4 noise? Do you need additional white noise?
5 I saw that Ms. McNeill went back to her
6 seat; so I assumed you were finished but . .
7 .
8 MS. MCNEILL: We're done.
9 MR. SECOR: We're done. Thank you.
10 MS. CHIAPPONE: Your Honor, I'm sorry,
11 there's just one more individual that I want
12 to make sure that the Defendant didn't want
13 called. It was Dr. Andrew Newberg. He
14 would have presumably testified as to the
15 PET scan findings.
16 So I just want to be clear: He was not
17 on the witness list that was read but wanted
18 to be sure that that is someone that the
19 Defendant does not want called and he's had
20 that discussion with his lawyers.
21 THE COURT: Do you want me to wait for
22 Mr. Marcus?
23 MS. MCCANN: I think that if the
24 Defendant wants to have a conversation with
25 his lawyers, now he can utilize this time

1 for white noise.

2 THE COURT: Okay.
3 There's a doctor that did a PET scan of
4 you. Do you want time to discuss with your
5 lawyers why that person is or is not being
6 called?
7 THE DEFENDANT: No. I think we're fine.
8 THE COURT: Okay.
9 MS. CHIAPPONE: Thank you, Judge.
10 THE COURT: Sure.
11 Is there anything else that either side
12 thinks I have to ask Mr. Cruz that I have
13 not already asked him before I make my
14 findings?
16 THE COURT: Okay.
17 MS. MCCANN: No, Your Honor.
18 THE COURT: I do find that Mr. Cruz is
19 making a knowing, intelligent and voluntary
20 waiver of all of the rights that I have gone
21 over with him. I believe that he has made
22 his decision with the advice of counsel and
23 that he has participated in this decision
24 based upon my own observations as well as
25 his answers.

1 At this time is there any reason why we

2 can't bring the jury in?
3 State?
4 MS. MCCANN: No, Your Honor.
5 THE COURT: Defense?
7 THE COURT: I'm also going to give
8 them -- I'm going to remind them that when
9 they begin deliberating, they're going to be
10 sequestered. And I'm not going to go into
11 great detail other than that they're going
12 to be staying at a secured location, perhaps
13 overnight, with the sheriff's office so that
14 they should be prepared the week of the 10th
15 to begin that process.
16 Obviously tentative, which is a
17 tentative week, but just to remind them in
18 case -- I don't know -- if they make an
19 appointment in the evening after we would
20 normally be finished with court, to let them
21 know that they're going to have to be
22 available perhaps overnight.
23 Okay. Bring them in.
24 THE BAILIFF: Jurors are entering.
25 (The jury entered in the courtroom at

1 11:26 a.m.)
2 THE BAILIFF: All jurors are present.
3 THE COURT: Okay. Everyone else may be
4 seated.
5 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I
6 apologize for keeping you waiting.
7 So I have what I think might be good
8 news depending on how you receive it. I
9 think you-all will find it good news.
10 Actually I jumped the gun a little bit
11 here. I jumped the --
12 Defense, call your next witness. I
13 apologize.
14 MS. MCNEILL: Your Honor, at this time
15 the defense rests.
16 THE COURT: Okay. Now the news is out.
17 So I can start -- I can finish what I
18 started to say.
19 The defense having rested its case, the
20 State now has the opportunity to present
21 what is called a rebuttal case. That is not
22 going to happen until September 27th.
23 It's impossible to anticipate from
24 either side exactly which witnesses may or
25 may not be called. It often depends on how

1 things go. And the attorneys have the

2 ability, on both sides, to perhaps call a
3 witness or not call a witness or sometimes a
4 witness's testimony takes longer or shorter,
5 as you-all know.
6 So we did not anticipate that the
7 defense would be resting today; therefore,
8 the State is not prepared to go forward with
9 the rebuttal case until the 27th.
10 That is nobody's fault. It's my fault.
11 So if you need to blame someone, please
12 blame me. Things happen throughout the
13 course of the trial. As I'm sure I told you
14 in jury selection, sometimes things go
15 quicker than we expect and sometimes they
16 take longer.
17 So, again, any scheduling problems, any
18 delays, please blame me. Don't blame the
19 lawyers. It's not their fault. It's my job
20 to keep things running efficiently and to
21 try to estimate as best as I can how long
22 things will take. So if I'm off, it's my
23 fault and I apologize for that.
24 So if you see your calendars that I put
25 on your seats, the reason we're not starting

1 on Monday, the 26th, is because it's a court

2 holiday and the courthouse is closed; so
3 we're going to start on the 27th.
4 The State anticipates that its rebuttal
5 case will take approximately one week.
6 However, because there is a court holiday on
7 Monday, September 26th, we will have the
8 full day on the 27th, a full day on the
9 28th, a full day on the 29th. Then I have
10 legal matters that I need to go over with
11 the lawyers.
12 There a lot of steps that you-all don't
13 see that have to take place during a trial.
14 Unfortunately, I can't get into all of them,
15 but please do understand that everyone here,
16 especially the lawyers, are working very,
17 very hard to make sure everything is
18 presented in a continuous manner, not to --
19 we're not going to the beach on a half day
20 when we don't start until 1:30. We're not
21 at the spa. I promise you that. These
22 lawyers are probably exhausted because they
23 have worked very, very hard -- on both
24 sides -- and I commend both sides for that.
25 But I just want you to know when there's

1 half days, it's not that we're doing

2 something that's not work related because we
3 all are working very hard.
4 So that Friday, we're going to start at
5 1:30. That's the 30th.
6 Then if you move to October -- October
7 calendar, there's another court holiday,
8 another Jewish holiday on the 5th of
9 October. It's Yom Kippur; so we can't be in
10 session. Even if some of you may not
11 celebrate that particular holiday, the
12 courthouse is closed. We cannot be in
13 session.
14 So because even though the State is --
15 anticipates that their rebuttal will take a
16 week, because we have a court holiday smack
17 in the middle of both of those weeks and
18 then we have a half day, I'm anticipating,
19 and again, things happen, as you-all
20 understand -- thank you for understanding --
21 so we believe the State's case will be
22 finished on Friday, October 7th, which means
23 the following week the attorneys will
24 present their closing arguments.
25 I will instruct you on all of the law,

1 as I promised during jury selection. And if

2 you remember or not, I'll remind you, not to
3 worry, you will be given the instructions in
4 writing, and I will go over the instructions
5 in depth with you.
6 Then, you will begin deliberating. And
7 the reason that I'm bringing that up is
8 because in a capital case, in this case, you
9 will be sequestered.
10 Now, we went over this in jury
11 selection, but just to remind you -- and I'm
12 not going to get into it in detail today
13 because the sequestration -- we call it the
14 "sequestration packet" is very, very
15 detailed. I'll just say that.
16 But in general, once you begin
17 deliberating, you don't have contact with
18 anyone other than your fellow jurors until
19 you reach a verdict.
20 So we will -- whichever day that this
21 falls on, in other words, whatever day the
22 attorneys finish closing arguments and you
23 begin deliberating, if the arguments are
24 finished, let's say, at 2:00 in the
25 afternoon, we won't begin deliberating

1 because you have to be sequestered until the

2 following day.
3 So we'll begin whichever day that falls
4 on at 9:00 in the morning, and you will be
5 sequestered.
6 If your deliberations take longer than a
7 day -- which they may, they may not. I have
8 no idea. There's no way to tell you that in
9 advance. Many times they do take more than
10 a full day -- then you will be taken to a
11 secure location by the sheriff's office.
12 You'll feel like you're, you know, the
13 President of the United States, just like
14 you did when we went on the jury view. I
15 don't know if you felt prestigious or -- or
16 very -- I know I did because there was
17 sheriff's office everywhere. They walk you
18 everywhere. They go with you everywhere.
19 It's, I feel, quite an honor. And they
20 stay with you. They drive you. They do
21 everything for you. They take you to a nice
22 hotel. I don't tell you the name of the
23 hotel because it's absolutely secure.
24 Nobody knows where you are, except for
25 you-all and the sheriff's office, and that's

1 done so that nobody would ever try to

2 influence you or bother you or -- it's just
3 an absolute secure, secret process.
4 So that's kind of exciting. You're
5 going to go to a secret hotel. It will be a
6 nice one, and you just will have to guess
7 because I won't tell you until you -- you
8 won't know until you actually arrive there.
9 During that process, you won't -- you
10 will be given very limited time to speak to
11 your family on the phone. All calls will
12 have to be monitored by the sheriff's
13 office. You'll each stay in your own room.
14 You will eat together, but when you go
15 into your rooms at night, it's a very, very
16 secure process. There's security. There's
17 screening. There's very limited number of
18 things that you're allowed to bring with
19 you. They even limit the alcohol intake,
20 believe it or not. I think it's two drinks
21 a night if you so request, but it has --
22 everything has to be approved by the
23 sheriff's office. And that's for the
24 purpose of keeping everything absolutely
25 fair and absolutely secure.

1 So I will go over all of that with you,

2 but please, if you have any appointments in
3 the evenings the week of the 10th, please
4 understand that you're going to have to be
5 available 24 hours a day from the time that
6 you begin your deliberations.
7 I'll answer all of your questions well
8 in advance, like as far as packing and --
9 I'm sure you have many questions. That's
10 normal. And I promise I'll answer all of
11 those and give you very specific details.
12 But I just need to make sure that you-all
13 understand the week of the 10th you're going
14 to be sequestered, you're going to have
15 limited contact with your family, and you're
16 going to be together all the time.
17 Okay?
18 Other than that, I have to -- because of
19 the extended period of time that we're going
20 to be away from one another, I do need to
21 read you the instructions that I have read
22 to you many times, but I'm going to read
23 them in full.
24 And I would ask that even though you're
25 probably thinking, "Oh, come on, Judge, I've

1 heard this a million times," please listen

2 carefully just in case on the off chance
3 that there's maybe one small thing that I
4 didn't tell you or that you didn't hear.
5 Please listen carefully.
6 During recesses, which is going to be
7 from in about ten minutes until
8 September 27th, you must not discuss the
9 case with anyone. And your friends and
10 family may be very curious because your job
11 is one that is very, very highly publicized.
12 In other words, not your names or faces, but
13 there are many people that are very curious
14 about what's going on in here.
15 So please do not discuss the case with
16 anyone nor permit anyone to say anything to
17 you or in your presence about the case.
18 On the off chance that you're at Publix
19 or wherever you may be and someone attempts
20 to say something to you or in your presence,
21 again, tell the person to stop and
22 immediately report it.
23 And, again, when we're in recess or on
24 the weekends, you can call my assistant and
25 leave a voicemail. I will get it right

1 away, and we will take care of it.

2 This case must be tried by you and only
3 you on the evidence presented during trial.
4 You cannot conduct any investigation on your
5 own.
6 So absolutely under no circumstances
7 should you do any research. You can't say,
8 "You know what? Let me drive by the school
9 because there's something that I may have
10 missed." Absolutely not.
11 You cannot do research. You cannot
12 drive to these places that you've heard
13 about.
14 Even though you've already been there,
15 you may say, "Well, what's the big deal?
16 We've already been there."
17 No. You can't do it. You may not do
18 it. If you do, it could cause a mistrial,
19 which would be terrible because we would
20 have to start the whole process over.
21 This includes reading newspapers,
22 watching television, using a computer, a
23 cell phone or the internet or any electronic
24 device or any means at all to get
25 information related to the case or the

1 people and places involved.

2 For example -- I'm just going to throw
3 this out there -- maybe you've determined
4 that, oh, you didn't realize this, but your
5 neighbor has information about the case.
6 No, you can't even talk to your
7 neighbor. You cannot talk to anyone. You
8 cannot get information by any means
9 whatsoever.
10 The only thing you get is what you get
11 in this courtroom or when this court is in
12 session like we were at the school. That's
13 considered a court proceeding.
14 You must not visit the places mentioned
15 or use the internet or maps or pictures to
16 see any place discussed during the trial.
17 Now, of course, anything that's in
18 evidence you'll have the opportunity to
19 review in depth or not at all, whatever is
20 your preference, but that is not until you
21 begin deliberating.
22 One other thing I just want to mention,
23 there are many news sites, which you should
24 not be on, which play live. And you can --
25 these proceedings are being videotaped, and

1 there are many news stations and sites that

2 play the proceedings over and over again and
3 certain parts of the proceedings.
4 Do not only look those up. And
5 certainly you should not be posting on those
6 sites. You shouldn't be on them at all but
7 don't post.
8 If you have Instagram or Facebook or --
9 I don't know, there's a million different --
10 Snapchat, I think my daughter uses, I don't
11 know -- but don't go on there and try to
12 look up anything about the case. Okay? And
13 if something pops up in your feed, delete
14 it, exit out. That's -- that's on you.
15 Okay.
16 I know you-all take your duties very
17 seriously because I can tell the way you
18 concentrate and listen when I'm talking, and
19 I very much appreciate that. I appreciate
20 you taking this serious. I appreciate
21 you-all working so hard and being so
22 diligent. As a group of jurors, you have
23 been wonderful; so let's -- let's keep it
24 that way, please.
25 Other than that, you have an order that

1 was on your chair. The ones that I provide

2 you each week that indicate when you were
3 here for jury service and when you are
4 required to return.
5 You-all have phone numbers. I think
6 you're all very familiar with -- you've been
7 great about updating the staff when you have
8 a personal situation going on.
9 Thank you for doing that.
10 As I hope you have been able to see so
11 far, minor schedule issues, we can
12 accommodate you to the best that we can; so
13 please continue letting the staff know when
14 you have an issue.
15 And other than that, does anyone have
16 any questions? Not about any of the
17 testimony or evidence but about the
18 procedure or what happens next?
19 Okay. So this is the part where I get
20 to the good news. The good news is I told
21 you during jury selection we wouldn't be
22 finished until the end of October. Although
23 that's still a possibility because you never
24 know, it looks like it's going to be more
25 like mid-October, so we're running a little

1 bit ahead of schedule; so that's good news.

2 And the other good news is you now don't
3 have to come back here and see us until --
4 or see me until the 27th of September, and
5 you get to leave early today.
6 So I hope you have a wonderful week and
7 a half off. Again, thank you for your
8 patience.
9 If I had known earlier that this was
10 going to be happening, I would have -- I
11 would not have dragged you-all in here.
12 Again, that's my fault. So please
13 understand that we are all working hard and
14 doing our best, as I know you are.
15 Is there any questions?
16 Okay. Thank you.
17 (The jury left the courtroom at 11:42 a.m.)
18 THE COURT: Okay. The jurors have been
19 excused. Is there anything that we need to
20 address before Monday at 1:30?
21 MS. MCCANN: Not from the State,
22 Your Honor.
23 MS. MCNEILL: Nothing from the defense.
24 THE COURT: I mean, what a great group
25 of jurors. They didn't even hesitate when I

1 told them they need to pack a suitcase. I

2 mean, I think that's a good sign. They take
3 their job very seriously; so I'm very happy
4 with that.
5 All right. We're in recess. Thank
6 you-all very much.
7 MR. SATZ: Thank you, Your Honor.
8 The Jury Trial was adjourned at 11:43 a.m.)
9 - - -
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1 C E R T I F I C A T E
2 - - -
3
4 I, TRISH BAILEY-ENTIN, Stenographic Reporter, State

5 of Florida at Large, certify that I was authorized to
6 and did stenographically report the foregoing
7 proceedings and that the transcript is a true and
8 complete record of my stenographic notes.
9
10 Dated this 15th day of September, 2022.

11
12
13
14 ____________________________
15 TRISH BAILEY-ENTIN, CR
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IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE

17TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT, IN AND

ATTACHMENT/EXHIBIT TO MOTION TO DISQUALIFY D-333

Attached is exhibit for defense motion D-333, Defense Motion to Disqualify:

• 09.14.22 Jury Trial Transcript, 71 pages.

e-service to the Office of the State Attorney, MICHAEL SATZ, at [email protected],

1 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE SEVENTEENTH JUDICIAL

12 JURY TRIAL BEFORE

14 Wednesday, September 14, 2022

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 1

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 2

11 Defendant's No. 87 Tomorrow's Rainbow Medical 7

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 3

1 Defendant's No. 97 Henderson Records of 17

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 4

1 (The following proceedings were held outside the

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 5

1 bring in the jury -- and if I could please

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 6

1 THE COURT: D1Z? You mean 1Z?

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1 MR. MARCUS: I asked to see those. I

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1 Children and Family call transcript.

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 9

1 THE COURT: Does it have a reportee?

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 10

1 questioning the witness.

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 11

1 I'm assuming you're talking about --

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 12

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 13

1 of unprofessionalism in my career. It's

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 14

1 want on the record at the end.

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 15

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 16

1 Care Records, was received in Evidence.)

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 17

1 THE COURT: 3X will be received as 98.

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 18

1 invoked a constitutional right --

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 19

1 intelligently is understanding that the jury

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 20

1 THE COURT: They're not entitled to hear

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 21

1 Disciplinary Action Records, was received in

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 22

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1 MR. SECOR: No, ma'am.

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 24

1 recess, and you-all can let me know when

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 25

1 We have to go -- the defense is going to

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 26

1 ones that are actually serving were ones

BAILEY ENTIN REPORTING, LLC Page: 27

1 MS. MCCANN: -- and this is based upon,