PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — All eyes have been on the trial of Jennifer Crumbley, the mother of the Oxford High School shooter, because of how unique it is and the precedent it could set.
Some attorneys say prosecutors across the country saw this case as a test run for charging parents in mass shootings, with the second part of that test coming next month with the trial of her husband James Crumbley.
“My mind was thinking, 'I'm witnessing history,'" said attorney Todd Russell Perkins of Perkins Law Group in response to watching the guilty verdict of Jennifer Crumbley. "I think I would have been surprised either way (guilty or not guilty).”
“I was a little surprised," federal criminal defense attorney Michael Bullotta said of the verdict. "I thought maybe they were headed toward a not guilty.”
Perkins and Bullotta are both attorneys based in Detroit. They say this case has wide-ranging implications.
“We now have an example in the books of what it takes to prosecute a parent for the acts of their children in committing a school shooting,” Bullotta said.
That example will be put to the test again in less than a month when the shooter's father will face the same four charges of involuntary manslaughter.
“I think what will come out in that case is that because the father bought the gun, they may hold him more accountable,” Perkins said.
While these attorneys both tuned into Jennifer Crumbley’s trial, they say you can bet James Crumbley’s attorney was also watching and will likely learn from it along with the prosecution. Both will use this trial as a guide to strengthen their cases, but who benefits more?
“Depends who you ask," Bullotta said. "Some people think it's better for the prosecution. Some people think it's better for the defense."
Also possibly watching that trial and hearing the verdict are James Crumbley’s future jurors.
“That jury will be told by the judge that they can't consider what happened in Jennifer's Crumbly’s case. They have to make their decision anew based on what happened in their trial," Bullotta said.
“The real test is going to be, can you be fair? And that's easier said than done,” Perkins said of the jury in the second trial. "I think that James Crumbley deserves even more opportunity to do that (question the jury), given the fact you have this trial that, everyone is going to know about."
Perkins says James Crumbley' attorney might request a change of venue, jurisdiction or approach the prosecutor to come to a plea agreement.
As for Jennifer Crumbley, her case may not be over either. She will likely file an appeal and Bullotta believes her attorney will focus that appeal on a lack of evidence and on the shooter's text messages to a friend that were used as evidence, where he told his friend he asked his parents for mental health help and they refused.
“Statements that are made out of court that are offered for the truth are called hearsay, and there's sometimes exceptions to that rule but in this case, I don't think there is an exception," Bullotta said. "So I think that will be a big issue on appeal because those messages, I think, were very damning to Jennifer Crumbley.”
Bullotta says he expects the appeal process will go through the Court of Appeals and will proceed to the Michigan Supreme Court. That process, he says, could take about two years.
Related:
