GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Following the ongoing trial of former Grand Rapids Police Department officer Christopher Schurr, legal expert Tonya Krause-Phelan provided insights into the proceedings. Krause-Phelan, Associate Dean of Academics and Professor at Cooley Law School, shared her observations with Fox 17.
As the trial progresses, the defense team now takes center stage. For the first time, conflicting testimonies have emerged. Two prosecution expert witnesses indicated that Schurr did not act reasonably when he fired his weapon. In contrast, one of the defense's initial witnesses provided a different perspective.
Krause-Phelan noted, "If we look at the prosecution's expert witnesses, notice they were talking about a national standard. Now we have a GRPD police officer who is trained to train officers and is aware of Michigan law, so the jury is going to have to sort out which standard is most applicable to this particular situation."
The defense has a substantial list of witnesses, but it is deemed unlikely that all will take the stand. A critical question remains: Will Schurr himself testify?
Krause-Phelan referenced discussions among defense lawyers, stating that there is a consensus that it is generally unwise for defendants to take the stand due to the risks of a damaging cross-examination from the prosecution. However, she highlighted a notable exception in self-defense cases.
"Very often, almost always I'll dare say, you see a defendant take the stand in a self-defense case because there's usually no other way for the jury to know, was this person actually thinking that they were in imminent threat of death or great bodily harm and that they needed to respond the way they did," she explained.
Krause-Phelan added that there was an expectation among outside observers for this trial to evolve into a battle of the experts, given the facts and circumstances surrounding the case. She says it appears that this expectation is being realized as the trial continues.
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