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Court hears challenge to grand jury in Flint water cases

Flint Water
Posted at 4:22 PM, May 05, 2022
and last updated 2022-05-05 16:22:02-04

DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has heard arguments that could wipe out charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder and eight others in the Flint water scandal.

Defense lawyers are challenging a rarely used method to investigate crimes and file indictments. Snyder and others were indicted by a judge who served as a one-person grand jury in Genesee County.

Evidence was offered in private by the attorney general’s office. People charged with felonies in Michigan typically have a right to a hearing where they can argue there’s not enough evidence to send a case to trial. But the one-person grand jury process doesn’t allow it.

Defense lawyers claim it's unconstitutional. Prosecutors say they're simply following a method approved by the Legislature.