Court Kills Flint Water Charges Against Former Governor And Others

It is a stunning defeat for Attorney General Dana Nessel, who took office in 2019, fired a special prosecutor and assembled a new team to investigate whether crimes were committed when lead contaminated the Flint water system in 2014-15. State law “empowers a judge to investigate, summon witnesses and issue arrest warrants” as a single-judge panel, the Supreme Court said. “But they do not authorize the judge to issue indictments,” the court said in a 6-0 opinion written by Chief Justice Bridget McCormack. The lawsuit was filed by the lawyers of former director of health Nick Lyons, but the decision also applies to Snyder and others who have been charged. The cases will now be returned to Genesee County Court for dismissal. “It was not even a closed case – it was six zippers,” said Lyon lawyer Chip Chamberlain. “It was based on a simple reading of the statute. “They could not do what they tried.” There were no immediate comments from Snyder’s legal team. The attorney general’s office said it was examining the opinion. In a move to save money, Flint executives appointed by Snyder changed the city’s water supply to the Flint River while a new pipeline on Lake Huron was under construction. State regulators said the river water did not need to be treated to reduce its corrosive properties. It was a disastrous decision: Lead from old pipes flowed through the system for 18 months in the majority city-Black. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission said it was the result of systemic racism, doubting that the water switch and cessation of complaints would have occurred in a white, prosperous community. Snyder, a Republican, was no longer in office in 2021 when he was charged with two counts of deliberate negligence. The former Chief Medical Officer of Lyon and Michigan, Dr. Eden Wells has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for nine deaths related to Legionnaires’ disease when Flint water may have lacked chlorine to fight bacteria. Six others were also charged with various charges: Snyder’s longtime coach Rich Baird. former senior assistant Jarrod Agen; former directors Flint Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Earley. Flint’s former head of public affairs, Howard Croft. and Nancy Peeler, head of the state health department. Nessel instructed Fadwa Hammoud to lead the criminal investigation, along with County Attorney Wayne Kym Worthy, while the attorney general focused on settling lawsuits against the state. Hamoud and Worthy turned to a large courthouse in Genesee County – a centuries-old, rarely used method – to overhear evidence and prosecute Snyder and others. “There are no velvet ropes in our criminal justice system,” Hammoud said proudly in 2021 when charges were filed. “No one – no matter how strong or well-connected – is above responsibility when they commit a crime.” But she and her team, acting on Worthy’s recommendation, did not follow a traditional procedure. Hammoud has not yet publicly explained why. Michigan prosecutors typically file charges after a police investigation. A large single-judge court is extremely rare and is mostly used to protect witnesses, especially in violent crimes, who can testify in secret. “It seems that the power of a judge conducting an investigation to issue an indictment was simply an indisputable case, so far,” the Supreme Court said on Tuesday. The residents were disappointed. Leon El-Alamin, Flint’s father and community activist, said the result was “shameful”. “So that everyone involved in this man-made disaster leaves the government without Scotland?” said Al Alamin. “We close people down every day for petty crimes. This has killed people. “People died from the Flint water crisis.” The Flint water switch and its aftermath have been investigated for crimes since 2016, when then-Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, appointed Todd Flood as special prosecutor. Schuette pledged to put people in jail, but the results were different: seven people did not ask to challenge the offenses that were eventually removed from their files. Flood insisted that he was gaining the cooperation of key witnesses and that he was moving higher towards bigger names. However, Nessel, a Democrat, fired him and vowed to start over after she was elected attorney general. Separately, the state agreed to pay $ 600 million as part of a $ 626 million settlement with Flint residents and property owners affected by lead-contaminated water. Most of the money goes to the children. There is no doubt that lead affects the brain and nervous system, especially in children. Experts have not identified a safe level of lead in children. Meanwhile, about 10,100 lines of lead or steel water had been replaced in Flint homes by last December.

Associated Press writer Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this story.

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title: “Court Kills Flint Water Charges Against Former Governor And Others " ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-09” author: “Christopher Sawyer”

It is a stunning defeat for Attorney General Dana Nessel, who took office in 2019, fired a special prosecutor and assembled a new team to investigate whether crimes were committed when lead contaminated the Flint water system in 2014-15. State law “empowers a judge to investigate, summon witnesses and issue arrest warrants” as a single-judge panel, the Supreme Court said. “But they do not authorize the judge to issue indictments,” the court said in a 6-0 opinion written by Chief Justice Bridget McCormack. The lawsuit was filed by the lawyers of former director of health Nick Lyons, but the decision also applies to Snyder and others who have been charged. The cases will now be returned to Genesee County Court for dismissal. “It was not even a closed case – it was six zippers,” said Lyon lawyer Chip Chamberlain. “It was based on a simple reading of the statute. “They could not do what they tried.” The attorney general’s office had no direct comment on the decision. Snyder’s legal team described the court’s opinion as “unquestionable and caustic”. “These prosecutions of Governor Snyder and the other defendants have never been about seeking justice for Flint citizens,” Snyder’s lawyers said. “Rather, Attorney General Nessel and her political attorney general, Fadwa Hammoud, staged a selfish, vindictive, wasteful, and politically motivated persecution.” The epic began in 2014 when Flint managers appointed by Snyder abandoned a regional water supply system and began using the Flint River to save money while a new pipeline to Lake Huron was under construction. State regulators insisted that the river water did not need to be treated to reduce its corrosive properties. But this was a disastrous decision: The lead released from the old pipes flowed for 18 months in the black majority city. The Michigan Civil Rights Commission said it was the result of systemic racism, doubting that the water switch and cessation of complaints would have occurred in a white, prosperous community.
Snyder, a Republican, has long acknowledged that his government failed in Flint, calling the crisis a “collapse of the state government.” He was fired in 2021 when he was charged with two counts of deliberate negligence. The former Chief Medical Officer of Lyon and Michigan, Dr. Eden Wells has been charged with involuntary manslaughter for nine deaths related to Legionnaires’ disease when Flint water may have lacked chlorine to fight bacteria. Six others were also charged with various charges: Snyder’s longtime coach Rich Baird. former senior assistant Jarrod Agen; former directors Flint Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Earley. Flint’s former head of public affairs, Howard Croft. and Nancy Peeler, head of the state health department. Nessel instructed Hammoud to lead the criminal investigation, along with Wayne County Attorney Kim Worthy, while the attorney general focused on settling lawsuits against the state. Hammoud and Worthy turned to a Genesee County jury to overhear evidence and indict Snyder and others. “There are no velvet ropes in our criminal justice system,” Hammoud said proudly in 2021 when charges were filed. “No one – no matter how strong or well-connected – is above responsibility when they commit a crime.” But she and her team, acting on Worthy’s recommendation, did not follow a traditional procedure. Hammoud has not yet publicly explained why. Michigan prosecutors typically file charges after a police investigation. A large single-judge court is extremely rare and is mostly used to protect witnesses, especially in violent crimes, who can testify privately. “It seems that the power of a judge conducting an investigation to issue an indictment was simply an indisputable case, so far,” the Supreme Court said on Tuesday. The residents were disappointed. “It’s a shame for the judiciary and the people of Flint,” said Leon El-Alamin, a community activist. “So everyone who took part in this man-made disaster is leaving Scotland without Scotland? We are closing people down every day for petty crime. It has killed people. People have died in the Flint water crisis.” The Flint water switch and its aftermath were investigated in 2016 when then-Attorney General Bill Schuette, a Republican, appointed Todd Flood as special prosecutor. Schuette pledged to put people in jail, but the results were different: seven people did not ask to challenge the offenses that were eventually removed from their files. Flood insisted that he was gaining the cooperation of key witnesses and that he was moving higher towards bigger names. However, Nessel, a Democrat, fired him and vowed to start over after she was elected attorney general. Separately, the state agreed to pay $ 600 million as part of a $ 626 million settlement with Flint residents and property owners affected by lead-contaminated water. Most of the money goes to the children. There is no doubt that lead affects the brain and nervous system, especially in children. Experts have not identified a safe level of lead in children. Flint in 2015 returned to a water supply system based in southeastern Michigan. Meanwhile, about 10,100 lead or steel water lines had been replaced in homes by last December. ——— Associated Press writer Corey Williams in Detroit contributed to this story. ——— Follow Ed White at