Latest news with #FifthAmendmentRight
CBS News
11-04-2025
- CBS News
Oakland County judge hears arguments on James Crumbley's request for new trial
Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews sat in the courtroom for more than two hours to hear arguments from the prosecution and defense over James Crumbley's motion for a new trial. Crumbley, the father of the Oxford High School shooting, filed a motion in February , claiming that he did not receive a fair trial in the Nov. 30, 2021, mass shooting that killed four people and injured seven others. Defense attorney Alona Sharon alluded to alleged secret agreements made by prosecutors with two school officials, former Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak and school counselor Shawn Hopkins . Crumbley was not in court on Friday, but Sharon accused the prosecution of misconduct "that robbed him of meaningful cross-examination and a chance to expose to the jury the biases of Hopkins and Ejak." However, Oakland County Assistant Prosecutor Marc Keast argued that the school officials were not promised immunity and prosecutors were not obligated to send the agreements to Crumbley's team. Crumbley's appeal also questioned why his son, Ethan Crumbley, was not ordered to testify in his trial despite the teen invoking his Fifth Amendment Right. The motion accused the court of not further examining whether the teen's reason for not testifying was justified. On Friday, Matthews ultimately called for more time to deliberate before making a final decision. The judge says he will have a ruling in a month. The back-and-forth about the proffer agreements with Hopkins and Ejak remains at the forefront not only for James Crumbley but also for his wife, Jennifer Crumbley, who appealed her case and requested that Prosecutor Karen McDonald be removed from it . In her response to James Crumbley's motion, McDonald said the agreements "were created at the request of their counsel, and provided assurance to counsel that the statements made during the interview would not be used against the witnesses later." "Nowhere in the proffer agreements is there a 'plea agreement, grant immunity, or other agreement for testimony in connection with the case,'" McDonald wrote in her response earlier this week . James and Jennifer Crumbley were each charged and convicted of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 30, 2021, deadly shooting at Oxford High School. The couple's son was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting. The Crumbleys made history as the first parents to be convicted for a mass shooting committed by their children. They were given separate trials that included testimonies from school officials, law enforcement and other witnesses. During the trials, the prosecution argued that the parents should be held partially responsible for the students' deaths because they ignored signs of their son's mental health needs and purchased the gun that was used in the shooting. The shooter was 15 years old at the time of the shooting.
CBS News
01-03-2025
- CBS News
James Crumbley, father of Oxford High School shooter, requests new trial
James Crumbley, the father of the Oxford High School shooter, has filed a motion requesting a new trial or an evidentiary hearing nearly a year after he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. Crumbley's appellate attorney, Alona Sharon, filed the motion on Friday in Oakland County 6th Circuit Court. Sharon claims that Crumbley did not get a fair trial partly because proffer agreements that prosecutors made with two Oxford school officials, former Dean of Students Nicholas Ejak and school counselor Shawn Hopkins, were not disclosed to the defense. Sharon claims that prosecutors' failure to conceal the agreements prevented Crumbley's trial attorney, Mariell Lehman, from cross-examining Ejak and Hopkins on their motive for their testimonies. The school officials met with the Crumbleys on the morning of the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting. "Most of the remedies listed by the court rule cannot remedy the instant discovery violation because the prosecution concealed the proffer agreements until six days after Mr. Crumbley's conviction," Sharon wrote. "The prosecution's actions made it impossible for this Honorable Court to remedy the prosecution's willful violation of the court rule short of a new trial." Sharon also requested that the court grant a Ginther Hearing, which grants a defendant a hearing of evidence if they claim their attorney was inadequate or disinterested during their case and that they had an ineffective legal counsel. She also argued that Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews failed to analyze whether the shooter invoking his Fifth Amendment Right to not testify was justified. The shooter, Ethan Crumbley, did not testify at either of his parents' trials. "It appears from the record that once appellate counsel informed the court that EC would invoke his Fifth Amendment right the trial court's inquiry and consideration of the issue ended. This action was an abuse of discretion as the trial court was required to make a particularized inquiry to determine the validity of the assertion and it neglected to do so," Sharon wrote. Sharon also argued that Crumbley's attorney, Mariell Lehman, failed to request that the court inquire further about the shooter invoking his Fifth Amendment right. The Oakland County Prosecutor's Office spokesperson, Jeff Wattrick, issued the following statement: "James Crumbley received a fair trial. As with Jennifer Crumbley, we believe the jury verdict in this case is correct and should be upheld. We are currently reviewing his appeal filing. Our office will respond in accordance with the court rules." The video above previously aired on Jan. 31, 2025.
