Places like the courtroom or senate hall are where you should be on your best behavior. Act professional as much as you can. Your career could depend on it, and everyone’s watching.

A member of a legal defense team did something not-exactly-professional inside the courtroom.

In fact, that’s a pretty mild way to put it. It’d be more fitting to say that it was insulting and unbecoming of someone in law.

The trial was for Nikolas Cruz, the shooter behind the Parkland High school shooting.

The gruesome and terrible event happened in 2018. A then 19-year-old Nikolas went on a shooting spree at Stoneman Douglas High school.

Cruz killed 17 students and injured 17 more people. It was a grim moment in modern American history. And to many people, it was proof that they hadn’t learned from past school shootings.

4 years after he committed that atrocious act, Cruz is now on trial again for the shooting.

His sentence was life in prison with no possibility for parole. They previously considered the 24-year-old mass murderer eligible for the death penalty.

But after a deadlocked jury, the sentence eventually turned into the life in prison sentence.

One of Cruz’s lawyers, Tamara Curtis, flipped the middle finger and laughed in court.

Yeah, not funny, Tamara. This was hugely disrespectful not just to the court, but to the victims of the shooting too.

17 people were taken from their families thanks to the actions of Cruz. So Tamara’s gesture really ticked off a ton of people.

She pretended to rub her cheek while making the rude gesture, before laughing it off with Cruz.

The whole thing was caught on camera. So what was meant as a subtle insult wasn’t as subtle as Tamara had hoped.

The judge was quick to reprimand the defense team for their behavior.

Judge Elizabeth Scherer made it a point to call them out, before switching her attention to another lawyer who seemed to take issue with Scherer’s reprimanding of the table.

Yes, some people thought Scherer was overreacting.

In response, the judge defended her reaction. The disrespect towards the court and the victims was unbelievable – especially coming from someone working in law.

Tamara Curtis earned herself an investigation into her behavior and conduct.

Meanwhile, some members of a local lawyer association found judge Scherer’s reaction to be an overreaction.

They argue that the judge was too animated and displayed what could be considered bias against the defense team. The letter was written to Chief Judge of the seventh judicial circuit, Jack Tuter.

While they understand that Curtis’ behavior was inexcusable, they don’t exactly think judge Scherer handled it the right way either.

“Considering all this conduct, which evidences an inability to be impartial, a lack of respect due to counsel, and a demeanor that shows bias against the defense function.” – the letter read

What do you think? Was judge Scherer showing too much emotion here, or was she right to reprimand them?

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Source: CBS News, Law&Crime Network on YouTube