Judge Won’t Close Hearings in Florida School Shooting Case

Nikolas Cruz appears at a hearing in Fort Lauderdale Fla., on Dec. 10, 2019 Amy Beth Bennett/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP, Pool, File

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. —A Florida judge refused Tuesday to close pretrial hearings to the media and public in the case of the man accused of killing 17 people in a 2018 high school mass shooting.

Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer rejected a motion by defendant Nikolas Cruz’s lawyers claiming that intense media coverage jeopardizes his right to a fair trial.