Flint Water Criminal Cases Drowning in Delays
Lawyers for former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder claim he can’t be charged in a Flint court with neglect of duty when Snyder worked inIngham County and prosecutors have lost key court decisions.
Landwebs
A year after charges were levied against former Michigan governor Rick Snyder for willful neglect of duty arising from decisions to switch Flint’s water supply to the Flint River in 2014-15 without treating it to reduce the corrosive effect on aging urban pipes, the prosecution of him and eight others is moving slowly, bogged down by disputes over millions of documents and even whether some cases were filed in the proper court, reports the Associated Press.
Snyder, who is the first current or former Michigan governor to be charged with crimes related to their time in office, and his legal team continue to attack the case, claiming he can’t be charged in a Flint court with neglect of duty when he worked miles away in Ingham County. In addition, prosecutors have lost key court decisions involving documents that were seized from state offices during the investigation and presiding Judge Elizabeth Kelly has ordered the attorney general’s office to set up an independent team to comb through records that could violate attorney-client privilege, an investigation that could cost $48 million and take years.
