In a 6-0 ruling with one justice abstaining, the court struck down the Michigan Attorney General’s use of a one-judge grand jury to issue indictments.
The decisionapplies specifically to three defendants, but it could affect other cases. The decision means the former state officials will be allowed to hear and challenge the evidence that the state used to indict them.
The state used a one-judge grand jury to bring charges against defendants that included former Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon and other state health officials. The Supreme Court said the one-person grand jury combines the roles of prosecutor and judge with no check on that authority.
The opinion written by Chief JusticeBridget Mary McCormackcompared the one-person grand jury to a “Star Chamber comeback,” referring to medieval inquisitions. The opinion says state laws “…authorize a judge to investigate, subpoena witnesses, and issue arrest warrants. But they do not authorize a judge to issue indictments. And if a criminal process begins with a one-man grand jury, the accused is entitled to a preliminary examination before being brought to trial.”
Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud said the attorney general’s office will shift tracks and re-file the charges and schedule court appearances.
“The Citizens of Flint should know these cases are not over,” she said in astatement released by the Attorney General’s office. “…We still believe these cases can and will be proven in court.”
John Bursch is the attorney for former health department director Nick Lyon and said the attorney general should call it quits on all the Flint prosecutions.
“It’s time for the nonsense to end,” Bursch told Michigan Public Radio. “The attorney general has wasted millions upon millions of taxpayers’ dollars and abused the public trust.”
The legal team for former Governor Rick Snyder, who is a defendant in one of the Flint water cases, said the Supreme Court decision will be used in a motion seeking to dismiss misconduct-in-office charges levelled against him.
A statement from the team called the case against Snyder “a self-interested, wasteful, and politically motivated prosecution.” Also: “We will be moving immediately to dismiss all criminal charges against Governor Snyder based on today’s unequivocal and scathing Supreme Court ruling.”
The one-judge grand jury has been more commonly used in criminal cases to address the possibility of violence against potential witnesses. Some prosecutors, including Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, said the decision creates a problem.
“In the coming days, I will be looking at pending cases in my office that may be affected by this ruling to determine how we will proceed,” she said in a statement. “In Wayne County, we have communities that are plagued by murders, drive-by shootings, and other violent crimes. The one-man grand jury has been an important way to protect witnesses who would never have come forward for fear of deadly consequences for themselves, family members, and friends.”
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