Attorneys for Oxford shooter try to stop him from testifying at parents' trials, weigh appeal

Pontiac — Attorneys for the Oxford teen sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting four students at Oxford High School in 2021 are trying to keep him from testifying at his parents' trials and are weighing whether to file an appeal.

Ethan Crumbley is on the witness list for "at least one" of his parents' trials, State Appellate Defender's Office attorneys Jacqueline Ouvry and Alison Swain wrote in a letter to Judge Cheryl Matthews. Jury selection for Jennifer Crumbley's trial started late Tuesday morning.

Ouvry and Swain said they would be advising Ethan not to testify if he is called.

“Further, we will advise Ethan to assert all privileges and protections of confidential communications relevant to documents and witnesses sought to be introduced in these trials,” the attorneys wrote.

In an email to The Detroit News on Tuesday, Ouvry said it was "premature" to speculate whether Crumbley would file an appeal.

"Our criminal legal system includes a constitutional right to an appeal and a lawyer for that appeal. This right is important to make sure the process is fair, correct, and legitimate," she wrote. "For now, we are making sure all parties know that Ethan has constitutionally protected rights, even at his parents' trials. Ethan is entitled to an appellate lawyer's review and advice before deciding whether to file an appeal. Beyond that, it is premature to speculate whether he will even choose to appeal."

The attorneys also said they want to block confidential communications related to documents and witnesses from being introduced during the trial. Two lawyers who represent the shooter's jail psychiatrists also filed appearances in the case, noting they would be raising issues as to privilege and asking Matthews to decide whether the doctors can testify.

In an email to Shannon Smith, Jennifer Crumbley's attorney, Tuesday morning, Ethan's appeals attorneys said he would not be waiving privilege or confidentiality. This means Smith wouldn't be able to use "necessary" evidence from medical records or the shooter's testimony in Crumbley's defense, Smith wrote. She did not say what this evidence was, as to not violate the protective order, but said it contradicts texts the shooter sent.

"The specific evidence would contradict claims in the texts messages that have been deemed admissible between the shooter and his friend," Smith wrote. "The statements that have been deemed admissible in the journal and the texts are tantamount to testimony by the shooter because they are being admitted as substantive evidence. As such, it is critical that defense counsel be able to impeach this critical evidence, or it simply cannot come in. ... Failure to impeach the evidence from the text messages will deprive Jennifer Crumbley of her Constitutional rights."

Smith asked that Matthews require the doctors to testify despite Ethan's refusal to waive privilege and require him to testify despite his claim that he will invoke his fifth amendment right to avoid self incrimination. Smith said she'd also accept excluding the shooter's statements in evidence.

Jury selection has started in Jennifer Crumbley's involuntary manslaughter trial. She's charged in connection with the deaths of four students — Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; Hana St. Juliana, 14; and Justin Shilling, 17 — and faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.

After pleading guilty, Ethan Crumbley was sentenced Dec. 8 to life in prison without parole.

kberg@detroitnews.com