FLINT, MI (MPRN)— A judge tossed out criminal charges Tuesday against seven former government officials tied to the Flint water crisis.
Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Kelly dismissed the felony charges. She cited a state Supreme Court decision finding the one-man grand jury used to issue the indictments was unconstitutional.
Attorney Chip Chamberlain represents former state health department director Nick Lyon, who was facing multiple involuntary manslaughter charges. Chamberlain says, “This misuse of the criminal justice system has to stop.”
“They shouldn’t have done it in 2017. They shouldn’t have done it in 2021. And if they’re thinking about it doing it again in 2022, they don’t have any more basis than they did way back when,” he says.
The judge’s decision does not affect the misdemeanor charges against former Governor Rick Snyder.
State prosecutors are pledging to continue the pursuit of justice for Flint residents. In a tersely worded statement, prosecutors expressed “anger and disappointment” at the judge’s decision.