Cooper to get grand jury documents for free
Brian ManzulloFormer CMU football player James Cooper Jr. will receive free copies of the DeMarcus Graham grand jury transcripts thanks to a motion granted today by the Isabella County Circuit Court.
Cooper faces charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and being an accessory to a crime in the beating death case.
Richard Marcil, Cooper's attorney, said copies of the extensive grand jury transcripts cost more than $2,000 and his client could not afford them. He argued Cooper should receive them for free because of previous case law.
Judge William Ervin agreed.
"Defendant James Cooper Jr. is indigent," Ervin wrote in the court order. "He is entitled to discovery materials and grand jury transcripts at public expense."
Marcil said he was satisfied with the outcome because "we went in there and we won."
Cooper plans to return to CMU in January to take the four classes he needs to finish his degree. Marcil said Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe was initially hesitant to take Cooper back because he felt he may be a "distraction" on campus.
Roscoe could not be reached for comment.
In other Graham case news, Ervin granted former CMU football player Demond Petty a bond reduction today.
Petty is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, perjury and perjury-subordination.
His bond was reduced from $1.2 million to $550,000.
Graham was beaten unconscious outside Shaboom's Pub Club, 106 Court St., on June 25, 2004. He died on July 14, 2004 in a Saginaw hospital.
