FLINT, MI -- A Genesee Circuit Court judge has rejected a proposed intervention in another Flint water crisis case by former Gov. Rick Snyder.
In an opinion issued Feb. 10, Judge Elizabeth Kelly said Snyder’s motion to intervene in the case of former state Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon failed to provide a proper basis for intervention, was untimely and could cause an undue delay in criminal proceedings.
Attorneys for the former governor, who has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty related to the water crisis, asked to intervene in the Lyon case because they wanted involvement in the development of the government’s written protocol for the establishment of a taint team.
Snyder and others charged with Flint water crimes have blasted prosecutors for not having used a taint team before distributing documents through the discovery process. They say attorney-client privileged documents ended up in the hands of prosecutors and other attorneys as a result.
A taint team is a group of prosecutors and agents that is not connected to a criminal investigation and that reviews seized materials to determine whether the information is privileged and should be withheld from prosecutors.
In November, Kelly ordered Flint water prosecutors to use such a team to filter out attorney-client privileged documents before they are used in cases against Snyder, Lyon and seven others charged with crimes tied to the water crisis.
Prosecutors have acknowledged having not used a taint team before starting the discovery process in the cases.
“As illustrated by this Court’s previous order to implement a taint team, this Court is well aware of the importance of attorney-client privilege and took action to preserve those interests,” Kelly’s opinion says. “Moreover, the Proposed Intervenor has a more appropriate forum. The Court sees no reason for continuous involvement or briefings in these criminal actions under a motion to intervene, as the Proposed Intervenor has his own pending action and may address his concerns there.”
Unlike Lyon, who is facing felony charges in Circuit Court, the charges against Snyder are misdemeanors and are being heard in Genesee District Court.
The Attorney General’s Office announced Kelly’s ruling in a news release Monday, Feb. 28, calling it “another recent win for the prosecution team.”
Earlier this month, in a separate opinion, Kelly denied a motion to dismiss the criminal cases against Nick Lyon and others, allowing prosecutors to continue to pursue the charges.
Jason Brown, a spokesman for the Snyder legal team, renewed a call Monday for the case against the former governor to be dismissed, saying there are “more pressing issues for the citizens of Michigan.”
“This case has no end in sight and taxpayer costs are soaring,” the statement says. “The AG’s office has spent millions of taxpayer dollars and made virtually no progress in court. They haven’t even resolved basic questions like evidence handling and proper venue.
“And now they need to spend even more money figuring out how to comply with the court’s order to use a taint team to properly handle attorney-client privileged information -- which they now claim will delay these cases two to three years and cost taxpayers an additional $38 million.”
Read more on MLive:
Snyder wants a seat at the table as Flint water prosecutors develop taint team
Judge lets Flint water case against Lyon continue toward trial, denies motion to dismiss charges
Engineering consultants say government officials lied, caused Flint water crisis