From [HERE] A Michigan judge dismissed criminal charges against former Gov. Rick Snyder related to his handling of the Flint water crisis.

Genesee County Circuit Court Judge F. Kay Behm said she was dismissing the case against Mr. Snyder because the charges against him weren’t properly brought. Behm is a white judge appointed to the court by Governor Granholm, a white liberal puppetician, in April 2009

Michigan prosecutors charged the former Republican governor in January 2021 with two counts of willful neglect of duty, a misdemeanor. 

The water crisis in Flint began in 2014, when officials appointed by the state switched the water source for the city of nearly 100,000 as a cost-saving measure and failed to treat the water properly, causing old pipes to leak lead into the tap water. 

In June, the Michigan Supreme Court canceled a lower court’s indictments of former officials and remanded the matter back to the court. Justices cited concerns about the prosecution’s use of a “one-man grand jury” statute, which bypasses the usual grand jury process and can allow a judge to act alone. 

The Supreme Court said state laws authorize the use of one-man grand juries to investigate, subpoena witnesses and issue arrest warrants, but not to issue indictments.

Prosecutors said Judge Behm’s decision this week wasn’t surprising and they plan on appealing. 

“As we have reiterated time and again, rulings up to this point have been on process alone — not on the merits of the case,” the prosecution team said in a statement. “We are confident that the evidence clearly supports the criminal charges against Rick Snyder, and we will not stop until we have exhausted all possible legal options to secure justice for the people of Flint.”

Mr. Snyder’s attorney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

The Flint water crisis severely affected the community and daily life and had a disproportionate impact on some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Tests later showed many children in the city had elevated levels of lead in their blood. The water switch was also blamed for an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that killed 12 people in 2014 and 2015. 

In October, a Michigan judge dismissed indictments against several other former state officials related to their handling of the Flint water crisis. Genesee County Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Kelly also said the indictments were invalid.