Name: Snyder team's new Flint defense: 'Neglecting a city is not a crime'
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Snyder team's new Flint defense: 'Neglecting a city is not a crime'

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Former Gov. Rick Snyder's attorneys argued Monday in a court filing that he cannot be charged with neglecting Flint during its water crisis and that a grand jury indictment goes beyond its Genesee County jurisdiction to charge the former two-term governor with misdemeanors.Snyder's attorneys filed a reply Monday in Genesee County District Court ahead of a hearing Tuesday where they're asking a judge to dismiss the indictment on grounds that the governor's decisionmaking was done in Ingham County, not Genesee.The former Republican governor's attorneys contend Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy made errors in seeking a one-man grand jury empaneled by 7th Circuit Court Judge David Newblatt.Hammoud and Worthy should have sought a multicounty grand jury or filed willful neglect of duty misdemeanor charges against Snyder in Ingham County where he ran state government, Snyder's attorneys said Monday."For reasons that almost certainly have much to do with attempting to tip the scales in their favor, the people opted not to pursue any of these options," Snyder attorney Brian Lennon wrote in a court brief filed Monday. "That decision means that the grand juror in this case could not indict for offenses committed outside Genesee County, including Governor Snyder's alleged offenses."State prosecutors have argued in court filings that the governor had a constitutional duty "owed specifically to the City of Flint" to ensure that his underlings were properly overseeing Flint's switch to Flint River water as its short-term drinking water source while a new regional pipeline was constructed to Lake Huron."Neglecting a city is not a crime — certainly not one with which Governor Snyder has been charged," Lennon wrote. "Nor did Governor Snyder have any duties 'owed specifically to Flint.'"Snyder's attorneys argued the two-term governor's "undisputed official residence was at the seat of government—Lansing.""His alleged crimes were committed, if at all, from that location, not in the city of Flint or anywhere else in Genesee County," Lennon wrote.Snyder never actually resided in the official governor's residence in Lansing during his eight years in office. He lived in Ann Arbor.If convicted, the two misdemeanor charges against Snyder carry a punishment of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.RECOMMENDED FOR YOUMost Popular12345

Former Gov. Rick Snyder's attorneys argued Monday in a court filing that he cannot be charged with neglecting Flint during its water crisis and that a grand jury indictment goes beyond its Genesee County jurisdiction to charge the former two-term governor with misdemeanors.Snyder's attorneys filed a reply Monday in Genesee County District Court ahead of a hearing Tuesday where they're asking a judge to dismiss the indictment on grounds that the governor's decisionmaking was done in Ingham County, not Genesee.The former Republican governor's attorneys contend Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud...

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Snyder team's new Flint defense: 'Neglecting a city is not a crime'

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