FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - The judge overseeing the case of Parkland school shooting defendant Nikolas Cruz will consider a defense request to delay the start of the trial.
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Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer on Tuesday set a Dec. 19 hearing on the defense motion. Trial for 21-year-old Cruz is currently set to begin Jan. 27, but defense lawyers say that is too soon given the case's magnitude.
Cruz faces the death penalty if convicted in the Valentine's Day 2018 massacre that killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
His lawyers say he would plead guilty in exchange for a life prison sentence.