Victims of the Highland Park parade shooting will be allowed to watch the suspect’s trial even though many of them will be called as witnesses, a judge ruled Thursday.
Lake County Judge Victoria Rossetti, in the last court hearing before jury selection is set to begin Monday, ruled in favor of the prosecution’s request to allow the victims to watch the trial.
Prosecutors said a majority of the 48 survivors of the July 4, 2022, attack plan to testify.
In her oral ruling, Rossetti said victims can attend the trial because none of them will identify the suspect, Robert Crimo III. Crimo is charged with 117 felony counts, including murder, for allegedly shooting paradegoers from a rooftop, killing seven people.
State law allows crime victims to be present for trials in which they testify, so long as their own testimony will not be affected the testimony of others, Rossetti said. She noted that prosecutors have said victims will merely recount their experience of the attack and how they were injured.
“In this particular case, there is no issue with regard to identification of the defendant from any witness,” Rossetti said in the brief hearing.
Prosecutors have said they will rely on surveillance video and a former school resource officer to identify Crimo as the alleged shooter.
In making her decision, Rossetti ruled against a request by the defense to exclude victims from watching the trial. She also acknowledged that a companion motion by attorney Antonio Romanucci, who represents several of the victims in a civil lawsuit, was moot because it mirrored the arguments of prosecutors.
The judge also ruled that each victim may bring one “support person” to the trial.
Jury selection is set to begin 9 a.m. Monday at the Lake County courthouse. In a previous hearing, Rossetti said the trial may last between four and six weeks.