Aide to former Gov. Rick Snyder sues Flint water prosecutors
By Ryan Jeltema
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FLINT, Michigan (WJRT) — A top aide to former Gov. Rick Snyder is suing the Flint water prosecution team for damages over their attempt to file charges using a rarely used legal mechanism.
Rich Baird, who served as a special adviser to Snyder from 2012 to 2018, claims Assistant Michigan Attorney General Fadwa Hammoud, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worth and Attorney General Dana Nessel deprived him of constitutional rights.
After Nessel took office in 2019, she appointed Hammoud and Worthy to take over the criminal investigation into the Flint water crisis. They dismissed all charges filed by former Attorney General Bill Schuette and launched a new investigation.
Hammoud and Worthy tried a rarely used one-man grand jury process to bring 41 charges against nine defendants, including Baird. They hoped the one-man grand jury, which was allowed under a 1917 Michigan law, would eliminate the need for costly and time consuming preliminary hearings.
However, the Michigan Supreme Court struck down part the 1917 law in a ruling that says defendants accused of felony charges are entitled to preliminary hearings before their cases proceed to trials.
Baird’s lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan claims Hammoud, Worthy and Nessel denied his constitutional right for due process by using the one-man grand jury process.
He claims the Flint water prosecutors continued trying to resurrect the charges against him after several key losses in court.
“They wanted their pound of flesh, even if it meant running roughshod over the United States Constitution,” Baird’s lawsuit says.
Based on the Michigan Supreme Court ruling, all criminal charges related to the Flint water crisis were dismissed in January. Baird claims the process caused him distress, pain, suffering, damage to his reputation and $800,000 in attorney fees.
He is seeking a federal court ruling that compels the defendants to reimburse his $800,000 worth of attorney fees, along with additional damages. No hearings have been scheduled with the lawsuit.
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