As attorney Arthur J. Weiss calls it, Richmond Police Chief Thomas Costello’s “nightmare of a year and a half is over.” Costello was accused of using the police-only computer network, LEIN, to retrieve non-public information without probable cause.
August 6, 2023
Seasoned criminal defense attorney Arthur J. Weiss commented in the Detroit Free Press article highlighting how discrepancies in the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office’s approach regarding school shooter Ethan Crumbley’s mental fitness might impact his Miller hearing and his parents’ trial. Weiss was among other experts who agreed that the Oakland County Prosecutor’s office “talking out of both sides of their mouth” may create difficulties in convicting the Crumbley parents of involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of the Oxford student victims.
Likening it to political posturing, Weiss explained, “It’s the typical politician. … They’re arguing different positions depending on the audience… They’re selecting what they want to select to sentence the child. And then they select what they want to select to convict the parents. But it’s the same child, same parents. And you’re trying to slice it up like a salami. And it shouldn’t happen.”
Weiss added that the prosecution’s position during the Miller hearing that Ethan Crumbley was not mentally ill and could discern right from wrong during the shooting incident could potentially be used to uphold the Crumbley parent’s claims of innocence: “These parents knew he had reported hallucinations … (and) had asked to go to the doctor … They did nothing. They knew their son was depressed. Instead of getting him help, they bought him a gun.”