{"id":35986,"date":"2022-10-05T20:09:33","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T20:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/michigan-judge-drops-charges-against-7-ex-state-and-city-officials-in-flint-water-crisis\/"},"modified":"2022-10-05T20:09:33","modified_gmt":"2022-10-05T20:09:33","slug":"michigan-judge-drops-charges-against-7-ex-state-and-city-officials-in-flint-water-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/michigan-judge-drops-charges-against-7-ex-state-and-city-officials-in-flint-water-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Michigan judge drops charges against 7 ex-state and city officials in Flint water crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> \n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-0\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">Oct 4 (Reuters) &#8211; A Michigan judge on Tuesday threw out felony charges against seven former state and local officials in connection with the Flint water scandal, ruling that the indictments brought against the individuals were invalid due to a procedural error.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-1\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">Under state-appointed managers, the government of Flint, a majority-Black city, switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River to cut costs in 2014. Corrosive river water caused lead to leach from the pipes, exposing thousands of children to lead poisoning and leading to an outbreak of Legionnaires&#8217; disease.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-2\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">Former state health director Nick Lyon, former state medical executive Eden Wells, former Governor Rick Snyder staffers Richard Baird and Jarrod Agen, former state health department employee Nancy Peeler and former Flint emergency managers Gerald Ambrose and Darnell Earley were relieved of their charges.<\/p>\n<div class=\"registration-prompt-v2__container__1mRPg registration-prompt-v2__inline__1JoxF article-body-v2__element__23wZV article-body-v2__inline-registration-prompt__3q-iu\">\n<p><h5 data-testid=\"Heading\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__white__3r45t text__medium__1kbOh text__heading_5__2krbj heading__base__2T28j heading__heading_5__2A2g- registration-prompt-v2__heading__2z1Vt\">Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com<\/h5>\n<p><button data-testid=\"Button\" class=\"button__button__2Ecqi button__secondary__18moI button__round__1nYLA text-button__container__3q3zX registration-prompt-v2__button-text__2m6i6\" type=\"button\"><span class=\"button__container__3sgvk\"><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__bold__2-8Kc text__default__UPMUu text-button__medium__113uZ\">Register<\/span><\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-3\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">The decision stems from a June ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court that so-called &#8220;one-person grand juries&#8221; do not have authority to bring indictments, Judge Elizabeth Kelly of the 7th Judicial Circuit Court said in dismissing the charges, though they have power to subpoena witnesses and issue warrants.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-4\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">The state&#8217;s top court that month tossed out charges against Snyder and eight others.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-5\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">Individuals charged by a one-judge jury have a right to preliminary examination, Kelly said. However, she dismissed the case without prejudice, which leaves a window for state prosecutors to file charges again.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-6\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">&#8220;If the People seek future charges against Defendants, they must follow one of the proper charging procedures outlined by the Supreme Court,&#8221; Kelly said in her ruling.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-7\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel&#8217;s office did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-8\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">State prosecutors decided to employ a rarely used method of obtaining the indictments, presenting evidence in secret before Genesee County Circuit Court Judge David Newblatt in what is known as a &#8220;one-man grand jury.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-9\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">The water crisis in the city of approximately 100,000 was widely viewed as an example of how U.S. environmental problems have disproportionately affected communities of color.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-10\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\" style=\"font-size:20px\">In November, a federal judge signed off on a $626 million partial settlement for victims of the contamination, with most of the money earmarked for children.<\/p>\n<div class=\"registration-prompt-v2__container__1mRPg registration-prompt-v2__inline__1JoxF article-body-v2__element__23wZV\">\n<p><h5 data-testid=\"Heading\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__white__3r45t text__medium__1kbOh text__heading_5__2krbj heading__base__2T28j heading__heading_5__2A2g- registration-prompt-v2__heading__2z1Vt\">Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com<\/h5>\n<p><button data-testid=\"Button\" class=\"button__button__2Ecqi button__secondary__18moI button__round__1nYLA text-button__container__3q3zX registration-prompt-v2__button-text__2m6i6\" type=\"button\"><span class=\"button__container__3sgvk\"><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__inherit-color__3208F text__bold__2-8Kc text__default__UPMUu text-button__medium__113uZ\">Register<\/span><\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span data-testid=\"Text\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__default__UPMUu sign-off-v2__text__28fsH\">Reporting by Tyler Clifford; Editing by Aurora Ellis<\/span><\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"Body\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__base__22dCE body__large_body__FV5_X article-body-v2__element__23wZV\">Our Standards: <a data-testid=\"Link\" href=\"\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__medium__1kbOh text__large__nEccO link__underline_default__2prE_\" rel=\"noopener\">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/__i\/rss\/rd\/articles\/CBMidGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnJldXRlcnMuY29tL2xlZ2FsL21pY2hpZ2FuLWp1ZGdlLWRyb3BzLWNoYXJnZXMtYWdhaW5zdC03LWV4LXN0YXRlLWNpdHktb2ZmaWNpYWxzLWZsaW50LXdhdGVyLTIwMjItMTAtMDQv0gEA?oc=5\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oct 4 (Reuters) &#8211; A Michigan judge on Tuesday threw out felony charges against seven former state and local officials in connection with the Flint water scandal, ruling that the indictments brought against the individuals were invalid due to a procedural error. Under state-appointed managers, the government of Flint, a majority-Black city, switched its water &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[161],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35986"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35986\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}