What to Know
- The school board claims the Sun Sentinel violated court orders by publishing details about Nikolas Cruz that were supposed to be redacted.
- The Sun Sentinel contends the school board had already exposed those details by mistakenly releasing them in a way anyone could see.
- Attorneys say the motion against the South Florida Sun Sentinel is scheduled to be heard Wednesday.
A judge has branded a newspaper "shameful" for publishing educational material about Florida school shooting suspect Nikolas Cruz that was supposed to be kept private.
But Broward Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer stopped short Wednesday of finding the South Florida Sun Sentinel in contempt of court. The county school board claims the newspaper violated court orders by publishing details about Cruz's educational background that were supposed to be redacted.
The Sun Sentinel contends the school board had already exposed those details by mistakenly releasing them in a way anyone could see.
"The Sun Sentinel obtained this report lawfully, found its contents to be of great public interest, and did its duty. As the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press noted, 'The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held that the press cannot be punished for publishing or broadcasting truthful information of public concern that the press obtained legally,'" the paper said in a statement.
The judge said she would issue a ruling on the contempt issue later.
Nineteen-year-old Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted in the shooting that killed 17 people in Parkland, Florida, at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where classes resumed Wednesday.
