Law With Mr. Lafayette

This is a very unusual criminal case originating from Oxford, Michigan.  It began on November 30 with the killing of four students at Oxford High School by a 15 year old sophomore, Ethan Crumbley, who also injured seven other students while firing a 9mm semi-automatic handgun.  What makes the case unusual is that his parents, James and Jennifer Crumbley were charged by the District Attorney, with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter on Thursday, December 2.  The senior Crumbleys were subsequently arrested in the early hours of Saturday, December 4, in Detroit, Michigan by a joint taskforce of Detroit Police, FBI agents and the US Marshals Service.  They were arraigned later in the morning of December 4 and all three are currently in Oakland County Jail.  Ethan is being held without bail, his parents have bail set at $500,000 each.  Review the timeline of the case to date with Mr. Lafayette, Street & Practical Law instructor at Leominster High School in Leominster, MA.

On Wednesday, December 1, 2021, my Street & Practical Law students had a unique opportunity to meet and hear the Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police, Colonel Christopher Mason, give an overview of the mission of the MSP.  A Trooper for 28 years, Colonel Mason has risen through the ranks culminating in 2019 with his appointment by Governor Charlie Baker (R-MA) as Superintendent with the rank of Colonel.

After discussing the current structure of the department, in terms of Uniformed Division, Investigations Division, and other components of the MSP including anti-terrorism and cyber crimes, the Colonel then answered students' questions giving detailed answers. The MSP is New England's largest law enforcement agency with 2,200 sworn members and approximately 700 civilian employees.  It is one of the oldest state law enforcement agencies in the Nation, with roots going back to 1865.   Colonel Mason became the first Superintendent of State Police to visit the LHS campus.  Accompanied by his Chief of State, Detective Lieutenant Mark Wheeler, both men were thanked by students for their service.

This episode consists of my introduction of Colonel Mason.

On Friday, November 19, 2021, a jury in Kenosha, WI found Kyle Rittenhouse not guilty on five charges that, if the results had been different, would have seen him spend the next 60 years in jail.  How did this now 18 year old end up charged in the first place?  What happened and when?  The events that led up to August 25, 2020, had an impact on three nights of rioting in Kenosha.  It was what brought Rittenhouse, a former police cadet and lifeguard from Antioch, Illinois there, to the city where his father lives.  During the trial and the nearly 26 hours that the jury deliberated, many people were focused on what was happening.  Apart from the facts and specifics of the trial, the role that the so-called "main stream" media received and is receiving as much, if not more attention.  Listen as René Lafayette offers commentary on these events including what contributed to the verdict in this episode of Law With Mr. Lafayette.

After the episode on social media and our First Amendment rights, René Lafayette discusses the topic of personal privacy in the age of "big Tech."  He discusses how our elected officials on the state and federal levels have an obligation to protect us, their constituents from unethical corporate practices including the "capture" of information without users knowledge.  In this episode of Law With Mr. Lafayette, our host takes his perspective as a former state legislator and suggests what could be done and by who to safeguard our Constitutional rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment "...against unreasonable searches and seizures." 

René Lafayette, Street & Practical Law Instructor presents listeners an overview and specific facts of the events that led to the February 23, 2020 pursuit and murder of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25 year-old black male.  Drawing from several resources facts are gathered and presented for you to consider in the context of a murder that was videotaped and subsequent released on social media shocking the world in the process.  A subsequent episode of "Law With Mr. Lafayette" will cover what happened in the hours, days and months following this tragic event.  As this episode is dropped jury selection at the Glynn County Courthouse continues with 32 of the 64 required jurors having been qualified.