There is no recognizable sense of justice anywhere. Bringing clean bottled water, fundraising for mitigating the disabled children to learn and other social programs to right the wrongs of Snyder's government is not justice. All the mitigation measures are expected, but, it is not justice, it is a rescue from injustice. The law never brought brevity to the crimes.
By Ed White
Prosecutors again lost a key decision Wednesday (click here) in another effort to revive charges against Michigan’s former health chief who was accused of negligence in certain deaths linked to the Flint water crisis.
The state appeals court said a Flint-area judge followed an “explicit directive” from the Michigan Supreme Court to dismiss an indictment against Nick Lyon.
“This court is unable to grant any relief,” a three-judge panel said in a terse order.
The Supreme Court in June said indictments returned by a one-judge grand jury in Genesee County were invalid. Nine people were charged, including former Gov. Rick Snyder, who was facing two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty.“Mr. Lyon and his family are heartened by the dismissal of the prosecution’s appeal, as it demonstrates how our system of justice is to work,” defense attorney Chip Chamberlain said.
State-appointed managers switched Flint’s water source to the Flint River in 2014, but the water wasn’t treated to reduce its disastrous impact on old pipes. As a result, lead contaminated the system for 18 months.
Lyon, who was head of the state health department, had no role in the water switch. But the river was blamed for an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease, which is typically caused by bacteria spreading through cooling systems.
Lyon and former chief medical executive Eden Wells were charged with involuntary manslaughter in nine deaths. They were accused of failing to timely warn the Flint area about the outbreak....
There is gross malpractice by the Snyder administration, including the AG's office. The AG's office completely ignored the events that were costing the people of Flint, Michigan their lives. They ignored it for over a year and even then it was treated as a political issue and not one of malicious neglect by the Snyder government. The Michigan Attorney General simply looked the other way. The charges brought were grossly inadequate for the brevity of the neglect. Snyder's responsibility was wiped clean by blaming the Emergency Managers and every other Michigan official remotely responsible for these crimes. There was a huge amount of money placed before the people of Flint and that is where it was supposed to stop. That is not a legal response, it was a diversion and the gaslighting of crimes.
Order date: 3/23/2022 (click here)
Docket No. 164191
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Christopher Kessel
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v (Bypass Application)
(Genesee CC - Kelly, E)
NICHOLAS LYON, Chip Chamberlain
Defendant-Appellant. John Bursch
Summary
The defendant is facing criminal charges as a result of his alleged involvement in the Flint water crisis. Genesee Circuit Judge David Newblatt, acting as a one-person grand jury under MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4, issued a felony indictment against the defendant. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, arguing that he has a statutory right under MCL 767.4 to a preliminary examination and also asserting constitutional violations. The circuit court denied the motion to dismiss, and the defendant filed an interlocutory application for leave to appeal in the Court of Appeals. He then filed in the Supreme Court an application for leave to appeal prior to decision by the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court has ordered oral argument on the application to address: (1) whether MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4 violate Michigan’s constitutional requirement of separation of powers, Mich Const 1963, art III, § 2; (2) whether those statutes confer charging authority on a member of the judiciary; (3) whether a defendant charged after a proceeding conducted pursuant to MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4 is entitled to a preliminary examination; and (4) whether the proceedings conducted pursuant to MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4 violated due process, Mich Const 1963, art I, § 17.
Opinion of the Supreme Court of Michigan (click here)
PEOPLE v PEELER PEOPLE v BAIRD PEOPLE v LYON Docket Nos. 163667, 163672, and 164191. Argued on application for leave to appeal May 4, 2022. Decided June 28, 2022. Nancy Peeler (Docket No. 163667), Richard L. Baird (Docket No. 163672), and Nicolas Lyon (Docket No. 164191) were charged with various offenses in the Genesee Circuit Court for actions they took as state employees during the Flint water crisis. The cases did not proceed by the prosecutor issuing criminal complaints and then holding preliminary examinations in open court at which defendants could have heard and challenged the evidence against them. Instead, at the request of the Attorney General’s office, the prosecutor proceeded under MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4, which authorize the use of a “one-man grand jury.” Judge David Newblatt served as the one-man grand jury, considered the evidence behind closed doors, and then issued indictments against defendants; defendants’ cases were assigned to a Genesee Circuit Court judge....
Order date: 3/23/2022 (click here)
Docket No. 164191
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Christopher Kessel
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v (Bypass Application)
(Genesee CC - Kelly, E)
NICHOLAS LYON, Chip Chamberlain
Defendant-Appellant. John Bursch
Summary
The defendant is facing criminal charges as a result of his alleged involvement in the Flint water crisis. Genesee Circuit Judge David Newblatt, acting as a one-person grand jury under MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4, issued a felony indictment against the defendant. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment, arguing that he has a statutory right under MCL 767.4 to a preliminary examination and also asserting constitutional violations. The circuit court denied the motion to dismiss, and the defendant filed an interlocutory application for leave to appeal in the Court of Appeals. He then filed in the Supreme Court an application for leave to appeal prior to decision by the Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court has ordered oral argument on the application to address: (1) whether MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4 violate Michigan’s constitutional requirement of separation of powers, Mich Const 1963, art III, § 2; (2) whether those statutes confer charging authority on a member of the judiciary; (3) whether a defendant charged after a proceeding conducted pursuant to MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4 is entitled to a preliminary examination; and (4) whether the proceedings conducted pursuant to MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4 violated due process, Mich Const 1963, art I, § 17.
Opinion of the Supreme Court of Michigan (click here)
PEOPLE v PEELER PEOPLE v BAIRD PEOPLE v LYON Docket Nos. 163667, 163672, and 164191. Argued on application for leave to appeal May 4, 2022. Decided June 28, 2022. Nancy Peeler (Docket No. 163667), Richard L. Baird (Docket No. 163672), and Nicolas Lyon (Docket No. 164191) were charged with various offenses in the Genesee Circuit Court for actions they took as state employees during the Flint water crisis. The cases did not proceed by the prosecutor issuing criminal complaints and then holding preliminary examinations in open court at which defendants could have heard and challenged the evidence against them. Instead, at the request of the Attorney General’s office, the prosecutor proceeded under MCL 767.3 and MCL 767.4, which authorize the use of a “one-man grand jury.” Judge David Newblatt served as the one-man grand jury, considered the evidence behind closed doors, and then issued indictments against defendants; defendants’ cases were assigned to a Genesee Circuit Court judge....
