2023-09-20 14:42:02
DETROIT (AP) — The Supreme Court has rejected a latest attempt to revive criminal charges once morest seven people in the Flint water scandal. The court on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, dismissed an appeal by prosecutors who have attempted to sidestep a previous ruling that eviscerated the cases.
The attorney general’s office used an unusual device — a judge-seated grand jury — to hear evidence and bring charges once morest Gov. Rick Snyder and eight others. But last year the Supreme Court said the process was unconstitutional and invalidated the charges.
However, this did not deter the attorney general’s office, which returned to the Flint courts and argued that the accusations might easily be revived by a simple presentation of documents. That position was repeatedly rejected all the way to the state supreme court.
“We are not persuaded that the issue presented should be reviewed by this court,” the Supreme Court said in a series of laconic rulings on Wednesday.
The attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Charges were filed once morest former state health director Nick Lyon, former medical executive Eden Wells and five others.
Snyder was charged with dereliction of duty, a misdemeanor. The accusation once morest him was dismissed.
Snyder’s appointees turned the Flint River into a source of drinking water for the city in 2014, but did not treat the water to reduce its corrosive impact on aging pipes. As a result, the system was contaminated with lead for 18 months.
Lyon and Wells were charged with involuntary manslaughter. Some experts have attributed a fatal legionellosis outbreak in 2014-15 to the change in water, which they failed to warn the public regarding in a timely manner.
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