Judge: Prosecutors In Parkland School Massacre Case Will Not Be Removed

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami/AP) — State prosecutors will not be removed from the Marjory Stoneman High School massacre case just because they won't reconsider seeking the death penalty.

That's the ruling from Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer who ruled Thursday she was denying the defense motion to disqualify Broward State Attorney Michael Satz from prosecuting the case.

Scherer wrote that a defendant must show substantial misconduct or actual prejudice to remove a prosecutor, which defense attorneys didn't.

The motion filed earlier this month by attorneys for 21-year-old Nikolas Cruz says Satz informed them he will consider no evidence that would argue against capital punishment.

Cruz is charged with killing 17 people in February 2018 at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. His lawyers have said he would plead guilty in exchange for a life prison sentence.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)