GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Those fighting for justice say Christopher Schurr, the former GRPD officer charged with murder in the death of Patrick Lyoya in April of 2022, should have faced justice much sooner.
Legal experts like Professor Lewis Langham say it's taken this long for a reason. Langham is a Professor Emeritus at Cooley Law School and retired Michigan State Police detective lieutenant.
READ MORE: Nearly three years after the death of Patrick Lyoya, family attorney speaks
"Once this trial starts, we want all the ducks in a row," he explained. "So it can go from beginning to end, let the jury make final determination based upon all evidence and testimony, and not have to worry about revisiting this case again on some legal technicality."
READ MORE: SCHURR TRIAL: A pool of 200-plus fill out questionnaires ahead of jury selection
First up is jury selection. Simple questionnaires will be filled out to weed out large chunks of candidates.
"Do you have any connections with law enforcement? Do you have any contacts, relationships, friendships with anyone on the prosecution side to defense side," Langham shared.
Sometimes a legal team wants someone who has no prior knowledge of a case. That's not always possible however, or even necessary.
"That's not the test," Langham added. "The test is whether or not you can maintain your impartiality and whether or not you can listen to all the testimony, all the evidence, and make a decision based only upon that evidence and testimony and not about anything you may or may not have heard about this case."
READ MORE: Judge denies motion for live taser demonstration in Christopher Schurr trial
Langham says the legal teams will likely break down the entire traffic stop up to the struggle for the taser, but he suggests it may ultimately come down to one question for the jury.
"Whether or not a reasonable officer in that same situation would have also felt that they needed to fire their weapon to either protect their life or to prevent great bodily harm from occurring."
The state has the burden of proof to show a reasonable officer would not have fired their weapon but Langham says the defense may have more of an uphill battle. The nature of the case, public perception, and the length of time since the incident happened will all contribute.
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