State Supreme Court Decision Ends Flint Water Crisis Prosecution

There will be no criminal convictions in the Flint water crisis following a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision.

Last year, the state Supreme Court overturned a 100-year-precendent in People v. Peeler, which upended the use of one man grand juries. The Flint water prosecution team has decided to close the case after the court said it will not review misdemeanor charges dismissed against former governor Rick Snyder by an appeals court. The prosecution team says in a statement released by the Michigan Attorney General’s office that not a single piece of evidence in the case was permitted in open court, effectively preventing the team from making their case against former state officials, including Snyder.

The team has expressed their frustration and disappointment that not a single person has been held accountable in the crisis. In a civil suit, separate from the criminal investigation, the state awarded the people of Flint $626 million, the largest state settlement in Michigan history.