Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald is under investigation by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission over allegations of ethical misconduct tied to her prosecution of the parents of the Oxford High School shooter, according to documents obtained by the Detroit Free Press.
The complaint alleges that McDonald crossed ethical boundaries during the cases against James and Jennifer Crumbley, fostering what it describes as a “must-win” approach and using the high-profile prosecutions in ways that raised concerns about professional conduct.
Prominent attorney files formal complaint
The grievance complaint was filed in August by Nancy J. Diehl, a veteran attorney with decades of prosecutorial experience. Diehl is a former president of the Michigan Bar Association, a former Judicial Tenure Commissioner, and a retired prosecutor who spent nearly 30 years with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.
In the complaint, Diehl alleges that McDonald fostered a “must-win” environment during the Crumbley prosecutions and engaged in misconduct that included “withholding evidence from the defense — in this case, proffer agreements that protected two key witnesses who testified against the Crumbleys; using press conferences, media interviews and a public relations firm to allegedly prejudice the defendants early on; and giving a TV crew inside access to her office — while a gag order was in place — resulting in a Hulu documentary titled: ‘Sins of the Parents: The Crumbley Trials.’”…