“A judge refused Tuesday to close pretrial hearings to the media and public in the case of the man accused of killing 17 people in the 2018 Parkland high school mass shooting. Broward County Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer rejected a motion by defendant Nikolas Cruz’s lawyers claiming that intense media coverage jeopardizes his right to a fair trial” NBC 6 reports.

“Scherer did not elaborate on her reasons for denial, saying she would detail them in a written order later. But Dana McElroy, attorney for The Associated Press, said it was the correct decision. ‘It allows access to all of the hearings and filings in this case of great public concern, which is both contemplated and required by the Constitution,’ McElroy said after the hearing. Several media outlets, including the AP, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News and CNN had challenged the closure motion. Cruz’s lawyers contended that open hearings might publicly reveal inadmissible evidence that will never be heard at trial and that news coverage could otherwise create bias among jurors.”

That last bullshit argument is particularly rich, that the defense apparently believe a jury pool can somehow be tainted in a case where an involuntarily celibate, Trump-loving terrorist unquestionably and knowingly slaughtered 17 high school students and teachers. Maybe it’s the best they can do given the circumstances. They should also try to make sure jurors don’t find out that Cruz is a registered Republican who voted by mail in the 2020 election from his jail cell (which he absolutely can do given that he has yet to be convicted of a felony) and it isn’t a bridge too far to assume who he voted for.