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Judge Elizabeth Scherer received national attention last year as she presided over the fraught, months-long trial of the gunman who killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in 2018 in one of country’s deadliest school shootings.

Scherer, then a judge in Florida’s Broward County Circuit Court, faced several accusations of biased behavior against defense attorneys during the trial, her first death penalty case. At various points, the judge griped at the defendant’s lawyers and accused them of behaving unprofessionally. After sentencing the gunman to life in prison, Scherer hugged prosecutors and victims.

On Monday, the Florida Supreme Court issued a public reprimand against Scherer for exhibiting bias against the shooter’s defense counsel. A June report by an investigative panel convened by the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission recommended the reprimand after reviewing court records and interviewing Scherer.

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An attorney for Scherer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening, but in a court filing last month, Scherer admitted to violating several codes of judicial conduct and accepted the public reprimand. Scherer had announced in May that she would be resigning effective June 30.

The commission had not required her to resign, it said in its report.

During the trial, Scherer frequently faced scrutiny for her behavior toward the defense counsel. She accused lead defense attorney Melisa McNeill of unprofessionalism in a heated exchange after the defense abruptly rested its case in September. Days later, Scherer rejected a motion from defense attorneys that asked her to step down, alleging she was biased.

After Scherer sentenced the gunman to life in prison on Nov. 2, she hugged members of the prosecution, victims of the shooting and family members of victims in the courtroom, according to the commission’s report. Scherer said she offered to hug the defense counsel, as well, according to the report.

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The next day, a letter from the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers accused Scherer of rudely rebuking two defense attorneys who expressed concern about what they viewed as “veiled threats” made against them on the stand by victims’ family members who were angered by their defense of the shooter.

The allegations against Scherer were referenced later that month when Randy Tundidor, a death row inmate appealing his sentence in a separate case that was assigned to Scherer, filed a motion to disqualify her from his upcoming trial based on her actions during the Parkland trial. Scherer denied the motion, but the Florida Supreme Court sided with Tundidor in an April decision and ordered the case to be reassigned.

Scherer, who was appointed to her post in 2012, had a clean record before the Parkland case, according to the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, which acknowledged the challenges that Scherer faced presiding over an “emotional and highly contentious” trial.

“In limited instances during this unique and lengthy case, Judge Scherer allowed her emotions to overcome her judgment,” the report states.

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