March 9, 2021
By Ed White
By Ed White
Detroit - Lawyers who negotiated a $641 million settlement (click here) for victims of Flint’s lead-contaminated water are asking a judge to carve out as much as $209 million for fees and expenses for years of work on the case.
If granted, the request would take nearly one-third of the overall deal made by dozens of attorneys who sued the state of Michigan, Flint, a hospital and an engineering firm, according to a court filing Monday.
“Working together, plaintiffs’ counsel have achieved a landmark $641.25 million partial settlement in these cases that the court has rightly called ‘complex’ and ‘intensely litigated.’ ... Plaintiffs’ counsel have worked on a contingent basis for more than five years now, without compensation of any kind, to achieve this remarkable result,” the lawyers said....
If granted, the request would take nearly one-third of the overall deal made by dozens of attorneys who sued the state of Michigan, Flint, a hospital and an engineering firm, according to a court filing Monday.
“Working together, plaintiffs’ counsel have achieved a landmark $641.25 million partial settlement in these cases that the court has rightly called ‘complex’ and ‘intensely litigated.’ ... Plaintiffs’ counsel have worked on a contingent basis for more than five years now, without compensation of any kind, to achieve this remarkable result,” the lawyers said....
And all those charged are whining they need a new judge. Why, the current one didn't let them off?
Snyder is scared. He and his cohorts are finally feeling the weight of the Rule of Law and he is scared. He is pulling every trick in the book. They always do. In the beginning of these proceedings, they always try to put up a front that they are innocent and THEY ARE THE VICTIMS.
By Ron Fonger
Flint - Two of former Gov. Rick Snyder’s top health officials (click here) are asking for a new judge to hear the involuntary manslaughter and other charges against them, alleged crimes tied to their roles in the Flint water crisis.
Former Michigan Department of Health and Huan Services Director Nick Lyon and former MDHHS Chief Medical Executive Dr. Eden Wells filed the judge-swap request in a combined motion in Genesee County Circuit Court Tuesday, March 9....
We already know the preliminary hearings are delayed until the judge goes through the grand jury documents. Evidently, the judge has a great deal of legal work to do in some of these cases because Michigan has a "one-person grand jury" provision.
This case has nothing to do with Flint, but, the one person grand jury is discussed openly in the article.
Originally posted in 2012, it was updated on January 20, 2019
By Danielle Salisbury
Jackson, MI - A one-man grand jury (click here) is a swift, powerful tool to use in cases involving witnesses who are not forthcoming, Jackson County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Mark Blumer said.
“We will do whatever is necessary to make the case work … when we have these tough cases with people who don’t want to get involved,” Blumer said.
For the third time in 10 years, the prosecutor's office requested a one-man grand jury, also called a judicial inquiry, to secure testimony in the case of Eshaum Gant, who died Dec. 24 of a gunshot wound to the head....
So, there is a lot to be understood about the processes involved in the Flint criminal cases. The one person (man) grand jury is probably the reason why the crimes against Synder are a slap on the wrist.
This is an article published by the Michigan Law Review praising the one person(man) grand jury. From this article, it looks like the one-man grand jury is being abused in the Snyder vs. Flint case.
Constitutional Law: (click here) Due Process: Power of Michigan One-Man Grand Jury to Punish Contempt
Stephen C. Bransdorfer
Michigan Law Review
Vol. 54, No. 3 (Jan., 1956), pp. 414-416 (3 pages)
Published By: The Michigan Law Review Association
If there were 16 to 23 grand jury members hearing the evidence Snyder would be facing serious charges regarding the deaths and injuries of so many people in Flint. He ordered the emergency managers and he overrode a law passed in a majority vote by the people in an election that disbanded the emergency manager law.
Snyder was not supposed to continue to use the law that negated elections. Snyder and the Republican legislature profoundly changed the emergency manager law in Michigan which was to benefit schools in its original form. Rick Snyder carries a great deal of responsibility for the deaths and neurological injuries in Flint.
He saw to it that the emergency manager law went far beyond providing adequate education for children in cities with troubled treasuries. He turned the emergency manager law into a dictatorship that dissolved democracy. As chief executive as governor, he implemented a highly punitive law that ultimately killed people. Snyder also completely ignored the letters from the federal EPA stating the water in Flint needed to be treated to end the high levels of lead due to its caustic quality. He is very guilty of harming the people of Flint, Michigan.
There should have been a full grand jury to hear the evidence. The one person (man) grand jury provision in Michigan needs to be assessed for it's appropriate use in this case.
