Mike Satz: Latest News

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - A jury said Thursday that it has reached a decision on whether to recommend that Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz be executed for the 2018 massacre that killed 17 people at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.The recommendation was not immediately released and came in on the second day of deliberations, promising an end to a three-month trial that included graphic videos, photos, and testimony from the massacre and its aftermath, heart-wrenching testimony from victims’ family members, and a tour of the still blood-spattered building.Nikolas Cruz waits for the judge to enter the courtroom before the jury's verdict is released. The jury’s decision must be unanimous if it intends to recommend the death penalty, and if that happens, it will be up to Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer to make a final decision. If all jurors can’t agree on recommending death, then Cruz would get life in prison.PREVIOUS: Parkland shooter trial: Prosecutor makes final case for Nikolas Cruz to get the death penaltyOn Tuesday, Cruz, sat impassively during closing arguments, occasionally exchanging notes with his attorneys.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Attorneys for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz suddenly and surprisingly rested their case Wednesday, leading to a shouting match after the judge accused them of a lack of professionalism.Cruz's attorneys had told the judge and prosecutors they would be calling 80 witnesses but rested at the beginning of Wednesday's court session after calling only about 25. There were 11 days of defense testimony overall, the last two spotlighting experts about how his birth mother's heavy use of alcohol during pregnancy might have affected his brain's development.The sudden announcement by lead attorney Melisa McNeill led to a heated exchange between her and Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer, who called the decision without warning to her or the prosecution "the most uncalled for, unprofessional way to try a case."The 12-member jury and 10 alternates were not present but were lining up outside the courtroom to enter.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A white Florida police officer was charged with battery Tuesday for allegedly shoving a kneeling Black woman to the ground during a protest march last month, prosecutors said.Broward State Attorney Mike Satz said Fort Lauderdale Officer Steven Pohorence, 29, was seen “intentionally touching or striking” the 19-year-old woman during a civil rights protest march on May 31.The charge is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Satz said in a news release that the decision on whether to seek a misdemeanor or felony charge was based on the extent of the injuries suffered by the woman, identified as Jada Servance in court documents.The case was investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.