PONTIAC, Mich. (WXYZ) — Jennifer Crumbley was back in court Friday, this time with a new attorney, fighting for a completely new trial.
PREVIOUS REPORT: Jennifer Crumbley challenging conviction in Oxford school shooting
Crumbley's new attorney, Michael Dezsi, told Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews that Crumbley deserves a new trial because "proffer agreements" made by the prosecution were not properly disclosed.
A proffer agreement is a legally binding contract between a defendant or witness and a federal prosecutor.
In this case, it would allow the witness to provide information on the stand with the agreement that the government won't use it against them in court.
Additional Video: Michael Dezsi, new attorney for Jennifer Crumbley, speaks on motion to toss conviction
Judge Matthews said Friday morning that she was "Very, very interested in hearing arguments about the proffer."
The two proffer agreements Dezsi referred to Friday were ones the prosecution made in 2024 with Oxford High School counselor Shawn Hopkins and former Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak.
The prosecution did not tell the defense about the agreements during the 2024 trial, which Desi argues is a violation of the discovery rule.
The discovery rule requires that, upon request, the prosecuting attorney provide any plea agreement, grant of immunity, or other agreement for testimony in connection with the case.
"Those school officials who sat down with the Prosecutor's office could say anything they wanted in that room, knowing that whatever they said could not be used against them at any later time. That is a grant of use immunity," said Dezsi. "They dangled that carrot to get them to cooperate."
The prosecution argued against Dezsi's claims, saying there was no discovery violation, the witnesses were not required to testify, and there was no immunity guaranteed.
"There was no grant of immunity, Judge," said Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast.
"It's not use of immunity?" replied Judge Matthews.
"It is not, Judge. The only way to grant immunity is to petition the court for immunity," said Keast.
Nicholas Ejak and Shawn Hopkins met with the Oxford school shooter and his parents, Jennifer and James Crumbley, on the day of the shooting. Each was a witness that Jennifer Crumbley did not search her son's backpack or take him home that day.
PREVIOUS REPORT: James and Jennifer Crumbley sentenced to 10-15 years in Oxford case
The defense argued that without the proffer agreements, their testimony would not have been heard.
Outside of the courtroom, Dezsi said, "They cheated, and they engaged in deceit. They had an absolute duty to produce those agreements, and those agreements could have changed the outcome of the case. I’m just getting started here."
Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said, "There was no conspiracy, and there was no decision to hide. We don’t keep secrets, we don’t hide anything."
At the end of court Friday, Judge Matthews said she would take some time to make her decision. She did hint that she would likely not decide on a new trial.
“Do you really think I’m going to do that?” Matthews asked Dezsi.
Dezsi replied, “No, but I want you to because I think you should."
