Jennifer Crumbley Trial: Door opened on privileged conversation with attorney

Jennifer Crumbley trial: Texts to lawyer could be fair game

Prosecutors have asked Judge Cheryl Matthews to review communications between Jennifer Crumbley and her attorney from the day she was charged to see if any of their texts are admissible. This comes after Crumbley testified that she relied on advice of her attorney when she skipped her arraignment and failed to turn herself in.

PONTIAC, Mich. (FOX 2) - Friday morning was expected to be the moment that the Oakland County Prosecutor got a chance to cross-examine Jennifer Crumbley. However, her trial was delayed due to a statement that she made on Thursday about a conversation with her attorney as Judge Cheryl Matthews reviews what the prosecution is allowed to ask.

Crumbley was called to the stand to testify in her own defense on Thursday, in a move that FOX 2's Charlie Langton questioned before it even happened. During her testimony, Crumbley discussed all sorts of matters surrounding the days, weeks, and months leading up to the school shooting that her son committed.

Defense attorney also asked about what happened after the shooter was charged and police were looking at charges against the parents. The prosecution has argued that the Crumbley parents went on the run, but Jennifer testified they stayed at a couple different hotels in Metro Detroit before making their way to a friend's art studio.

During this testimony, defense attorney Shannon Smith asked her questions about what they did while at the studio. Jennifer testified that she had messaged with her attorney about plans to turn themselves into the jail.

But when she brought up her attorney, that's opening a door that the defense doesn't want to be opened.

A major part of the prosecution's case is about ‘flight’ – and whether Jennifer Crumbley went on the run after learning of her charges.

The prosecutor is arguing that Crumbley was fleeing from police after being charged – but they have the burden of proving that to the jury. The prosecution wants those conversations to be admitted as evidence.

However, since Jennifer Crumbley hired Shannon Smith as her attorney, that is privileged information.

"Privilege is like gold - this one was broken. how do you fix this broken privilege?" Langton said.

This isn't an easy problem to solve. After about 15 minutes, Judge Matthews returned to court and ruled that an extracted portion of conversations between Jennifer and Smith would be allowed to be admitted.

What is Jennifer Crumbley charged with?

Jennifer Crumbley is charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, one count for each student killed by her son at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021.

Her husband, James Crumbley, is also facing the same charges and is expected to go to trial after Jennifer's trial is complete.

What did Jennifer Crumbley do?

The prosecution argues that Jennifer and James ignored their son's mental health and even bought him a gun before the Oxford High School shooting.

Jennifer's attorney maintains that her client knew nothing about guns and was not involved in purchasing the weapon. Receipts provided in court show that James bought the gun, and the shooter admitted during his plea hearing that he gave James money to buy the firearm. Video from a gun range showed Jennifer shooting a gun with her son, but her lawyer claims she didn't know what she was doing.

Journal entries detailing the shooter's mental state have been presented in court, but Jennifer's defense argues that there is no evidence Jennifer knew about this writing.

Witnesses called by the prosecution during the trial have also described a meeting between the Crumbley parents and school officials the morning of the shooting. The parents were called after violent drawings were discovered on their son's schoolwork.

During this meeting, a school counselor told the parents to get their son mental health help as soon as possible and recommended that they take him home from school. However, the parents chose not to take him home.