James, Jennifer Crumbley ask appeals court to toss case: Our son did this, not us

James and Jennifer Crumbley are seeking intervention from the Michigan Court of Appeals, arguing they never should have been charged in a school shooting that was carried out by their son.

In a filing late Monday with the appeals court, defense attorneys for the Crumbleys argue that the parents cannot be held accountable for the actions of their son, that there are no legal grounds to charge them, and that they had no idea he would commit such an act.

"(Ethan Crumbley's) criminal conduct was the sole cause of harm to the victims," defense lawyers argue in the filing, maintaining the prosecution is trying to make an example out of the Crumbleys when the law doesn't support it.

"Certainly, if the prosecution could directly link Mr. or Mrs. Crumbley to the mass shooting, they would be prosecuted for first-degree murder as if they had directly committed the offense," the defense writes. "However, because the prosecution cannot support such a claim, they are left attempting to fit a square peg into a round hole."

That's because what the prosecution is really trying to do is reform gun laws and make an example out of the Crumbleys, the defense maintains, alleging their clients are wrongfully being prosecuted for an issue that belongs in the Legislature.

More: Crumbleys plan to call their son to testify in their case: 'We need him'

More: Judge denies Crumbleys' request to move trial out of Oakland County

"The desire to hold someone accountable for the tragedy that occurred at Oxford High School on November 30, 2021, is certainly understandable, but '[t]he temptation to stretch the law to fit the evil is an ancient one, and it must be resisted,' " the defense writes, citing case law.  " ... there can be little doubt that the charges against Mr. and Mrs. Crumbley ... are borne out of a desire to hold persons accountable for criminal acts, where no legal justification exists to do so. However, to extend the law in such a way involves important policy decisions of broad social consequences, reaching far beyond this single case. Such a task, then, should be resolved through the legislative process, and not judicial innovation."

Moreover, the defense argues the Crumbleys' case could set a dangerous precedent for parents everywhere.

The Crumbleys are appealing a June 22 order by Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews, who, among other things, denied the parents' request that she quash the charges.

Matthews concluded the prosecution had presented enough evidence to proceed with the involuntary manslaughter charges against the Crumbleys, who are accused of ignoring the mental health needs of their son, buying him a gun instead of getting him help, and failing to notify the school that he had access to a gun when they were summoned to the office over a violent drawing he had made on the morning before the shooting.

The defense has repeatedly argued that the parents secured the weapon in the home, and had no idea their son would carry out a school shooting.

The Crumbleys are the first parents in America to be charged in a mass school shooting. It occurred on Nov. 30, when their son allegedly emerged from a bathroom at Oxford High School at 12:51 p.m. and began firing into a hallway. In advancing the case to trial, the prosecution has convinced two judges that the deaths of four students could have been avoided "if the Crumbleys exercised ordinary care and diligence in the care of their son.”

Four students died. Seven others were injured, including a teacher.

According to courtroom testimony, Ethan Crumbley kept a 22-page journal in which he detailed his plans to shoot up his school, and criticized his parents and school officials.

But lawyers for the Crumbleys are also asking the appeals court to keep that journal out of trial, should the case proceed, arguing "there is no evidence that (his) parents knew about or ever saw (his) journal."

In its filing with the appeals court, the defense also cited a 1961 Michigan Supreme Court ruling in a case that it says is  "remarkably similar" to the Crumbleys' case. It involved a man who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for giving his car keys to a drunk man who got into a car accident that night, killing himself and another motorist.

The Supreme Court ended up vacating that conviction, concluding the man who handed over his keys was not guilty of involuntary manslaughter because he was not present when the accident happened, nor did he counsel the driver in the killing or take part in it.

"Of course, the Crumbleys did not counsel (Ethan) in the commission of the school shooting or act jointly with (him) in any way; to the contrary, the Crumbleys had no knowledge that their son intended to commit multiple homicides on November 30, 2021. Nor did any common enterprise exist," the defense argues.

The Crumbleys also argue that text messages that Ethan sent to his friend eight months prior to the shooting are irrelevant and should not be shown to the jury. They include:

"I am going to ask my parents to go to the doctor’s tomorrow or Tuesday again ... But this time I am going to tell them about the voicees [sic]"

"They make me feel like I'm the problem," Ethan texted of his parents. "My mom makes everyone feel like a piece of s---. I actually asked my dad to take me to the doctor the other day, and he just gave me some pills and said to 'suck it up.' My mom laughed when I told her."

The defense argues that unless Ethan testifies at trial and can be cross-examined, "there will be no way to test the reliability" of the text messages to his friend, or his journal entries. The defense maintains that the Crumbleys "dispute" things that Ethan has written, but they won't be allowed to challenge that unless their son testifies.

"The only witness who can explain the content of the journal and the text messages is (Ethan Crumbley). If (he) does not testify, and cannot be cross-examined, the statements must be excluded," states the defense, which has previously noted that it plans to call the son as a witness to testify at trial.

The Crumbleys' case is set to go to trial next month.

Ethan Crumbley, who  is charged with first-degree murder and terrorism charges, is scheduled to go to trial in January.

Tresa Baldas:tbaldas@freepress.com

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jennifer, James Crumbley file appeal: We never should've been charged