The Michigan Supreme Court rejects a former officer’s appeal in the Patrick Lyoya murder case

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WWMT) — An appeal by former Grand Rapids police officer Christopher Schurr was rejected by the Michigan Supreme Court.

Schurr, 31, remains charged with second-degree murder for shooting and killing Patrick Lyoya in April 2022.

In a court order issued Monday, Michigan Supreme Court justices rejected Schurr’s appeal because “we are not persuaded that the issues presented should be considered by this court.”

A majority of the justices also found that the decision to transfer the case to Kent County Circuit Court was within the “principle outcome range.”

“However, this was not a reversible error because, even applying the proper standard, the 61st Circuit’s decision did not fall outside the ‘principled range of results,'” the justices wrote in the court’s order.

However, Judges Brian K. Zahra and David F. Viviano dissented from the ruling and remanded it to the appeals court to consider whether or not Lyoya possessed a dangerous weapon at the time, according to the documents.

Lyoya, 26, was shot and killed on April 4, 2022, during a traffic stop on the southeast side of Grand Rapids.

Schurr had stopped Lyoya for a license plate violation, but when Lyoya tried to flee the scene, the men got into an argument. Schurr then fired the fatal shot.

Lyoya’s estate later claimed that Schurr violated Lyoya’s Fourth Amendment rights, but Schurr’s team dismissed the case, arguing that Schurr was protected by sovereign immunity, according to the documents.

A judge then ruled on Jan. 25 that there was enough evidence to try Schurr in the murder case, prompting Schurr’s team to file an appeal.

But that appeal was rejected on Sept. 9 due to “lack of appellate jurisdiction,” the documents say.

“While denial of a motion to dismiss is not a final decision, ‘courts of courts have limited jurisdiction to address purely legal questions in appeals of qualified immunity denials’ but ‘typically do not have jurisdiction to hear substantive disputes.’ ‘,” the ruling states in detail.

Attorney Ven Johnson, who represents the Lyoya family, called the Sept. 9 decision a “small but significant” victory.

“That’s really why they did it,” Johnson told News Channel 3. “They’re trying to stop us from going forward and gathering all this information and more information and intelligence to support our case, so we’re going to move forward. We’re going to be able to show up on our path to trial and share more information about what really happened that day very, very soon.”

Reacting to Monday’s ruling, Kent County Attorney Christopher Becker said he was “pleased” with the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision. He made the following statement:

“The courts at all levels have consistently assumed throughout the trial that the allegations were justified and the case should be left to a jury. We hope to move forward as quickly as possible to find a final solution for Patrick’s family who did this.” I have waited patiently for years for this to happen.

News Channel 3 reached out to Johnson’s office for comment on Monday’s ruling but has not yet heard back.