(WWJ) A federal judge has ruled that the victims of last year's massacre at Oxford High School, including the families of those who were slain, can have their day in civil court.
Calling it "a major victory" for Oxford families, WWJ's Charlie Langton reports that, unlike a Circuit Court judge, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Goldsmith said that the victims can go forward to trial on federal claims against Oxford Community Schools.
It was mixed ruling, however, as claims were dropped against a half-dozen people: Pam Fine, the school district's restorative practices coordinator; former superintendent Tim Throne; and former Oxford High School principal Steven Wolf; as well as teachers Jackie Kubina, Allison Karpinski and Becky Morgan.
This comes after, back in March, an Oakland County Circuit Court judge dismissed all Oxford Community Schools defendants from the civil lawsuit filed by Attorney Van Johnson, citing governmental immunity.
"The same type motions were filed by Oxford saying, judge, let us out of the case -- governmental immunity, all that crap that they said. In this particular case, Judge Goldsmith did in fact kick out the teachers that were sued in that case, but he denied the motion, which therefore means we continue on the path toward trial," said Johnson, who represents many of the victims.
Johnson said Goldsmith ruling means that school councilor Shawn Hopkins and dean of students Nicholas Ejak continue to face "state-created danger claims" made by the victims' families and survivors.
"That means that the families of these poor people that were killed and murdered and also trapped in rooms, will have their day in court in a federal courtroom in downtown Detroit," Johnson said.
As for why, Goldsmith wrote in his opinion: "Based on their allegations, plaintiffs are entitled to proceed to discovery to learn what evidence supports their contention that Ejak and Hopkins’s failure to immediately address a known risk of danger rose to the level of conscience-shocking."
Langton said the school district is expected to appeal this latest ruling.
Back in October, 16-year-old Ethan Crumbley, who was a student at Oxford High School, pleaded guilty to all 24 felony charges, including four counts of first-degree murder and one count of terrorism in the deadly shooting on Nov. 30, 2021.
Four students, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Justin Shilling, 17, Tate Myre, 16 and Hana St. Juliana, 14, were killed in the tragedy, while six other students and a teacher were wounded by gunfire.
The shooter's parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley, remain behind bars awaiting trial on four counts each of involuntary manslaughter.
According to prosecutors, the parents knew that their son was troubled yet failed to intervene, even when the teen showed numerous warning signs that he was in mental distress.
It's also alleged that James Crumbley armed his son, buying him a handgun just days before the shootings, and failing to properly secure what would become the murder weapon.
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