OXFORD, Mich. – Just weeks before his involuntary manslaughter trial is scheduled to begin, the father of the Oxford High School shooter has asked the court to change the trial’s venue for a second time.
Attorneys for James Crumbley on Wednesday, Feb. 14 filed a motion with an Oakland County court to request a change of venue. Crumbley is preparing to stand trial for four involuntary manslaughter charges in connection with the Nov. 30, 2021, shooting, and the defense wants that trial to take place in a different county.
A change of venue request typically occurs when a defense team believes the defendant’s right to a fair trial is jeopardized by the location where the trial is being held, and from where the jury is being selected. It’s up to the judge to decide if the current venue would impact the defendant’s ability to be treated fairly.
Here’s a breakdown of what prompted this venue change request, and what a change in venue could look like for James Crumbley.
How court jurisdiction works
In general, courts are only allowed to hear cases regarding matters they have legal jurisdiction over. A circuit court in Michigan couldn’t hear and rule in a case that happened in and only affected Arizona, for example.
When it comes to criminal cases, a court hears a case if the crime happens in or involves their specific jurisdiction. That court must have jurisdiction over the person or property involved in the crime, according to the American Bar Association.
That’s why James Crumbley’s involuntary manslaughter trial is being held in Oakland County: because the shooting occurred there, and because that’s where his family lived and his alleged negligence occurred.
If a crime spanned several Michigan counties, that case could be heard in one of any of those locations. But Crumbley is requesting his trial be moved out of Oakland County and to a different court that didn’t initially have jurisdiction over this case.
Is this request allowed in Michigan?
Michigan law allows motions to be filed in court requesting to change the venue of a case or trial. The state gives individual courts the power to approve or deny these requests as they see fit.
If a court grants a change of venue request, the case “may be changed to any other county, district, or court and the proceeding tried in that county, district, or court,” the law reads. The court to which the proceedings are transferred would have “full jurisdiction of the proceeding as though the proceeding were originally commenced in that court.”
Why the request to change venue?
There are a number of reasons a defendant might request to change the venue of their case or trial, but there’s one in particular that James Crumbley’s attorneys focused on.
In the motion filed Wednesday, attorneys for Crumbley said the request was made due to widespread and sustained local media coverage of his and his wife’s cases. The motion claims media coverage regarding the Oxford shooter’s parents and their involuntary manslaughter charges has surpassed the coverage of the shooter himself.
“[I]f a case has received widespread pretrial publicity, one of the parties may make a motion (request to the judge) for change of venue in an effort to secure jurors who haven’t already formed an opinion about the case,” the American Bar Association says.
It’s the belief of the defense that jurors pulled from Oakland County would already have knowledge about James Crumbley’s case, and may have prejudice against him. In an effort to ensure a fair trial, the defense is requesting the venue moves to a different county to have access to a jury pool that hasn’t been influenced by media coverage.
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Will the court grant this request?
Of course, we can’t say for sure. Oakland County Judge Cheryl Matthews is presiding over this case, and will decide whether or not she believes James Crumbley’s right to a fair trial is in jeopardy because of the trial’s location.
Experts across the board say that it’s rare for a venue change request to be granted.
James’ wife Jennifer Crumbley already stood trial for the four involuntary manslaughter charges brought against her. She was tried in Oakland County and convicted of all four counts by an Oakland County jury.
The shooter’s parents were both charged with the same counts and were set to stand trial together as co-defendants in January. The pair requested in 2023 to sever their cases and stand trial separately, however. The judge granted that request, and Jennifer Crumbley’s trial happened first.
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Before their trials were severed, attorneys representing the couple had requested in 2022 to change the venue of their case, arguing the couple wouldn’t get fair treatment in Oakland County. Judge Matthews denied that request in June 2022.
“The level of pretrial publicity, and the number of prospective jurors that might have been directly affected by the Oxford shooting alone is not enough to warrant a change of venue before conducting voir dire,” Judge Matthews said in 2022. “Oakland County is not a small community and is sufficiently diverse to weigh against a finding of presumed prejudice. It’s well-established that pretrial publicity alone does not warrant a change of venue.”
Now, James Crumbley’s trial is scheduled to begin on March 5. His attorneys argue that the publicity of his wife’s trial, including post-trial media appearances by prosecutors and the jury’s forewoman, has further influenced the public regarding his case.
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office filed a response to James Crumbley’s motion on Feb. 15. The prosecution is requesting that the judge deny the motion to change venues, saying there are no new circumstances to consider following the judge’s initial ruling in 2022.
Prosecutor Karen McDonald argued the defense is asking to switch venues “before jury selection has even been attempted.” McDonald claimed jury selection for Jennifer Crumbley’s trial went “far quicker than expected” and that the pool of potential jurors was larger than they needed.
“Using the same care the court used in Jennifer Crumbley’s trial, including the use of the questionnaire and careful questioning of each prospective juror, selecting a fair and impartial jury in Oakland County will be achieved in defendant James Crumbley’s case as well,” the prosecution’s filing reads. “Like defendant’s first motion, defendant’s second motion to change venue should be denied.
You can read the prosecution’s full response down below.
What happens if the request is granted?
If Oakland County Judge Matthews decides to grant the venue change request, James Crumbley’s trial would be moved to a circuit court in a different Michigan county -- though it’s unknown what county that could be.
Michigan law dictates that all expenses related to the trial would be the responsibility of Oakland County, even if the case moves to a different county. If James Crumbley were to be convicted in a different county, any fines related to his potential sentence would be paid to the county where the trial took place.
If the case were to get moved, the Oakland County prosecutors would likely move right along with it, prosecuting the trial as usual but from a different venue. Whether or not the judge would remain the same, however, is unknown.
The most important aspect of a potential venue change in this case are the jurors.
If the trial was moved to a different county, prospective jurors would get pulled from that jurisdiction instead of from Oakland County. It’s also possible that the judge could decide to keep the trial in Oakland County, but pull jurors from a different county.
It’s important to note that these decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, and are up to the presiding judge to mandate.
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