The judge looked from attorney to attorney flanking Nikolas Cruz and asked them a third time: Who is your next witness? The lawyers looked uncomfortable.
"Is it a secret who's going to be questioning your next witness?" asked Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer.
Melisa McNeill, lead defense attorney for the Parkland school shooter, stood and announced without preamble that there were no more witnesses to call. The team of public defenders charged with saving Cruz's life was ready to rest its case.
The announcement Wednesday was a stunning and abrupt end to Cruz's three week-long defense, which was expected to last into October and feature the testimony of about 40 more witnesses, including Cruz's brother, Zachary Cruz.
With prosecutors unprepared to present their rebuttal and a roomful of jurors waiting to be let into the courtroom, Scherer had no choice but to send them all home. She ripped into the defense attorneys before she did, calling their behavior “the most uncalled for, unprofessional way to try a case.”
"To have 22 people, plus all of this staff and every attorney, march into court and wait, as if it's some kind of game — " It's another day wasted, she finished.
McNeill stood again and steeled herself against the judge. The defense attorney objected to Scherer insulting her on the record and said she believed she should be able to defend herself.
"Do that later," the judge snapped. "You've been insulting me the entire trial, blatantly. Taking your headphones off, arguing with me, storming out, coming late intentionally if you don't like my rulings. Quite frankly, this has been long overdue. So please be seated."
Tense moments between Scherer and McNeill have punctuated the proceedings for months. McNeill threatened to remove herself from the case in June after Scherer denied her request to delay jury selection. She then motioned for the judge to remove herself instead, which Scherer denied, too.
Scherer's demeanor changed as jurors took their seats in the courtroom, more than two hours behind schedule and not yet knowing they would soon be sent home.
"It's my fault," the judge told them. "If you need to blame someone, please blame me. It's my job to keep things running efficiently."
McNeill repeated to the jurors what she'd told the judge earlier, officially concluding Cruz's defense portion of the trial.
Scherer adjourned the court after promising that prosecutors would begin their weeklong rebuttal on Sept. 27 and offer closing arguments the following week. Jurors are tentatively scheduled to begin their deliberation Oct. 10. Should they recommend Cruz be executed, they must do so unanimously.
If just one juror votes for life, Scherer will sentence Cruz accordingly.