Today, I read an especially disturbing news story that should make every Michigan citizen concerned for their constitutional rights.
In a January 13, 2025 article, Tresa Baldas of the Detroit Free Press outlines how Oakland County Michigan Prosecutor, Karen McDonald, spent $100,000 to violate constitutional rights:
The Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office spent at least $100,000 on two “high priced” public relations firms to run a “smear campaign” against the Oxford High School shooter’s parents, cut a secret recording deal with ABC despite a judge’s gag order, and allowed another national reporter to embed himself in its war room and document trial strategy sessions, according to a new defense court filing.
Step back and give that some room to breathe.
There’s a lot to unpack there, and from that statement alone, we learn three things:
- Karen has no regard for judicial instruction and gag orders,
- She believes she is above the law.
- She spent $100,000 in taxpayer dollars to not only make a horrific and tragic situation even worse, but to profit from it by being featured in a Hulu Documentary.
Unethical Prosecutors like Karen McDonald are benefiting from and weaponizing America’s fascination with true crime.
Consider the amount of financial resources on both sides in any criminal case; it’s essentially bringing a knife to a cannon fight:
- On one side, the state of Michigan has infinite resources.
- The other, a family or in other cases, even just one defendant, will liquidate their assets to defend their innocence.
There’s ZERO chance. The odds are stacked before someone even enters the system.
Unfortunately the Crumbleys are not the first defendants to have this happen to them in Michigan, let alone America.
And even though this behavior is flagrantly unconstitutional and unethical, the Michigan Court of Appeals will likely excuse it (See People v. Heck).
Michigan is already terrible when it comes to ethical practices and transparency; scoring dead last with a solid F on the Center for Public Integrity Report Card.
It does not matter where you are on this emotionally charged topic. Karen McDonald’s behavior is not even remotely ethical and sadly, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will do nothing about it, though parents have asked her to investigate and she has the authority to do it.
Baldas’ article also indirectly explains another issue with the Oxford Case: the Michigan Attorney General has refused to investigate the school, even when NOTHING is stopping her:
Dezsi alleges the prosecution engaged in “abuses” of all sorts in building its historic case, including cutting secret deals with key school staff witnesses who were assured their statements to investigators would not be held against them.
Refusing to investigate public officials and people with power and influence and hiding records is standard practice for AG Nessel (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).
Unless of course, it’s a political rival or someone who dares tell her she’s wrong.
I can also speak from experience that if it’s not about investigating a political rival, and a prosecutor is involved, her office does not care and will not investigate.
Due Process Rights
It doesn’t matter what the defendants in a case have done when a prosecutor will go to vast and expensive lengths to destroy even one person’s due process rights, let alone three.
Rights for all, or none of it matters.
Karen McDonald paid to win these cases in the court of public opinion rather than the court of law.
Prosecutors already have too much power and zero accountability. If this is not addressed, it will be used as a playbook again and again. Rights will continue to be trampled and no one will receive a fair trial.
Unless you’re wealthy, you are not safe.
We NEED Reform or This Will Not Stop.
I am still hopeful that change is on the horizon, but there is SO much reform work to be done in Michigan.
Read the article here.
