Parkland mass murderer Nikolas Cruz’s attorney, Tamara Curtis, is being reviewed and investigated by the Florida Bar Association for appearing to flip off cameras during the sentencing phase of his trial and then laughing about it.
(Video Credit: CBS Miami)
The Broward County public defender appears in video footage that shows her being visibly annoyed at a cameraman who was pointing his camera lens in her direction just before the proceedings began, according to WPLG.
She then had some sort of confab with Cruz and another member of the legal team at the defense table. After that, she appeared to wave at the cameraman and then flip him off while scratching the side of her face. So much for legal decorum.
Cruz thought it was funny but his humor was short-lived. He was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday for gunning down 14 children and three teachers in a historic slaughter that is billed as one of the worst mass shootings ever to take place in America.
A number of relatives of those who perished that day at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School complained about Curtis’ disrespectful behavior. They asserted that Cruz’s defense team failed to show the victims’ families minimal “humanity” over the course of his sentencing trial.
THIS is the moment the judge was talking about. The week before the trial began and before a hearing began, two defense attorneys appear to notice the new camera setup. One seems to suggest they flip off the camera and then this happens:
#ParklandShooter https://t.co/aGUC8MOSMv pic.twitter.com/wZxWjF314f— Cathy Russon (@cathyrusson) November 1, 2022
Parent Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter was one of the murder victims, angrily referred to the gesture after Cruz was formally sentenced, calling Curtis an “immature punk child.”
“Looking at Tamara Curtis take her middle finger rub it up and down her cheek when she lost an argument in the courtroom and then just start laughing with the killer over it like an immature punk child — I will never ever, ever forgive that moment, but that’s who they were,” Guttenberg remarked, according to the New York Post.
"Looking at attorney Tamara Curtis take her middle finger and rub it up and down her cheek when she lost an argument in the courtroom and then just start laughing with the killer over it like an immature punk child," Guttenberg said. "I will never ever ever forgive that moment."
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) October 13, 2022
Other victims’ families also complained about Cruz’s attorneys’ behavior. Those lawyers actually complained to the judge that the families appeared to be inciting violence against them.
“This man, this animal, this piece of shit, this bastard took the lives of 17 people, you have a right to defend him. You have no right, no right to demean the people who lost somebody. None,” Michael Schulman, the father of Scott Beigel, a slain Parkland teacher stated, according to The Daily Beast.
Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin died in the shooting, called Curtis the “middle finger lady.”
Curtis was not present for the sentencing on Wednesday, but Oliver flipped off the defense table in her honor.
Nikolas Cruz will one day be in hell paying for the crimes that he committed, but the behavior of one of his attorney's, Tamara Curtis, should be investigated and punished by the Florida Bar Association. She is an embarrassment to our legal system. https://t.co/qYmK6ELFsA
— Miami Gator 🇺🇸 🇨🇺 🇺🇸 (@UFGator1972) November 3, 2022
“What about our children?” Oliver angrily stated, outraged over the defense’s safety concerns. He also told Cruz’s attorneys that their actions during the trial for a monster that killed 17 innocent souls would stoke public revulsion.
“A lot of people will hate all of you,” he informed them, pointing in their direction. “They’ve seen your faces. You can complain about what I’m saying right now. I don’t care.”
Unbelievably, the jury did not give Cruz the death penalty although he richly deserved it. They cited “underlying factors” such as fetal alcohol syndrome and Cruz having a tough upbringing.
.@gordonweekes You're disgusting. Your legal team is despicable. Shame on David Wheeler for his comments to the judge, shame on Tamara Curtis for flipping off the camera and LAUGHING with a murderer, and shame on you for defending their behavior. I hope karma isn't gentle with u!
— Melissa (TheBookN3rd) 📚☕ (@TheBookN3rd) November 2, 2022
Curtis has been practicing since 2004 and has a law degree from Ohio State University. She has not been disciplined before but it looks like she will be this time although the Bar is not commenting one way or another at this point.
“The complainant of an investigation and other documents are not made public,” Florida Bar Communications Director Jennifer Krell Davis said, according to Fox News.
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