PONTIAC, Mich. – An Oakland Circuit judge ordered the attorney for the Oxford School District Wednesday to comply with a request for depositions in a civil lawsuit stemming from the Nov. 30 high school shooting in which four students died and seven others were wounded.
Judge Rae Lee Chabot had previously ordered attorneys into mediation on the issues but after they reported being unable to resolve matters, she told attorneys they have 60 days to comply with depositions from six school employees: Pam Parker Fine, Shawn Hopkins, Nicholas Ejak, Jacquelyn Kubina, Becky Morgan and Allison Karpinski.
Failure to comply would put the school district’s attorney at risk of being in contempt of her initial court order of June 23 that attorneys for families of victims were entitled to ask them questions outside of court.
Attorney Ven Johnson is leading civil lawsuits on behalf of Oxford High School shooting victims.
Fine and Hopkins are school counselors; Ejak, is dean of students; and Kubina, Morgan and Karpinski are teachers. Attorney Ven Johnson wants to quiz them about what they did and didn’t know about the risks posed by Ethan Crumbley, the 16-year-old charged in the shooting – and why nothing was done about disturbing behavior he exhibited at school including violent drawings on his math homework and searching for ammunition on his phone.
Johnson, who represents families in federal and state lawsuits, had also filed legal motions with Chabot to compel Oxford Community Schools and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office to turn over copies of all police reports and surveillance camera videos. Those matters have not been resolved and are expected to be taken up in another pretrial hearing next Wednesday before Chabot.
“We expect we will be successful in that as well,” said Johnson. “We aren’t asking for anything unusual, but they are apparently not going to provide requested material without a fight.
“We have to consider today a victory but it is part of them attempting a delaying process in this civil case.”
Attorney Timothy J. Mullins, who represents the six school employees, said Wednesday there are “a lot of legal arguments and motions still pending in several courtrooms including in federal court where (federal) Judge Mark Goldsmith is seeking to have the lawsuits all consolidated.”
A dozen lawsuits have been filed in federal court related to the shooting.
Attorneys for the school district and teachers have sought to have the lawsuit dismissed and to stay all depositions and discovery until the dismissal motion has been decided. Their legal argument is that the school and its employees are protected based on governmental immunity – a legal issue which lawyers are expected to argue along with other matters, “in the months ahead” Mullins said.
Johnson’s chief objection is that governmental immunity is unconstitutional.
“Neither the school district, nor its employees, should have any protection not provided to ordinary citizens,” Johnson said.
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office asked to intervene in the civil lawsuit last month after Chabot ordered the release of all evidence contained in the Oakland County Sheriff Office’s file relating to the shooting, including surveillance footage.
The civil lawsuit against the school’s employees was filed in Oakland Circuit Court on behalf of families of two slain students, Tate Myer and Justin Schilling, and three other students who survived the shooting incident but remain traumatized, according to court documents.
In a released statement, the Prosecutor’s Office explained it is concerned about any impact on the pending criminal trials, and about giving the accused shooter, Ethan Crumbley, the notoriety he sought.
“Our focus is on achieving justice in the criminal cases, and we don’t want any evidence released prematurely that could affect those cases,” said Oakland County assistant prosecuting attorney Marc Keast. “The civil cases are also an important part of achieving justice for the victims, but we are asking that the criminal cases be allowed to proceed before more evidence is released. In addition, there is substantial research and data showing that school shooters seek notoriety, as was the case for the Oxford shooter. We want to avoid any public release of video or other evidence that could inadvertently encourage future shooters.”
Johnson said “that is not their job.”
“We have been trying for over seven months to get this information,” he said. “The families of the victims deserve – are entitled – to this information.”
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