Judge will not dismiss charges against Snyder
Former Gov. Rick Snyder’s attempt to have criminal charges against him thrown out was denied Thursday.
A Genesee County district court judge denied a motion from Snyder’s legal team to dismiss criminal charges brought in January against Snyder for his role in the Flint water crisis.
Last week, Snyder’s legal team argued that the court had no choice but to dismiss the two misdemeanor charges for willful neglect of duty because they were brought in the wrong court.
The case should be in Lansing, not Flint, because that’s where his office was, the former Republican governor’s lawyers argued.
But Judge William Crawford II was not convinced.
Crawford said that the indictment, issued by a one-man grand jury after considering evidence in the case, listed Genesee County as the location of the crimes. Crawford also noted that prosecutors still must prove at trial that the crimes occurred in Genesee County.
“It still makes sense that if the grand juror…had believed a crime to have been committed in another county, that he would’ve listed such county as a place of offense,” Crawford wrote in his ruling.
Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office charged Snyder and eight others in January with a range of crimes related to the Flint water crisis. Snyder and the other eight defendants all have pleaded not guilty.
Snyder’s defense team and lawyers for other defendants are waiting to receive details about the basis for the charges. Seventh Circuit Chief Judge Duncan Beagle currently is reviewing evidence presented to the grand juror before it is released to defense attorneys.
Because the evidence is confidential while it is under judicial review, Crawford said he did not feel comfortable deciding that the alleged crimes by Snyder did not occur in Genesee County.
After Crawford read his ruling, Snyder’s attorney, Brian Lennon, indicated to the judge that the ruling would be appealed. Lennon and other defense attorneys have criticized the use of a grand jury to bring charges as overly secretive.
“While everyone agrees the Flint water crisis was a tragic episode in our state’s history that caused a tremendous amount of trauma to many people, the state has presented absolutely no evidence to support their case,” Snyder’s legal team wrote in a statement after Thursday’s ruling. “The (former) governor cares deeply for those affected by Flint’s water problems, and while in office, did everything in his power to help address them as facts and information became known. We will vigorously defend the former governor from these unfounded charges and are confident we will prevail.”
Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud, who is leading the prosecution, said Thursday’s ruling is “a small victory for the people of Flint who patiently await their day in court.”
“This ruling affirms what our team has argued from the beginning: that the use of the grand jury to investigate and bring charges against Mr. Snyder and others as part of the Flint water crisis was proper.”
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