Michigan Attorney General

This week, Flint marks the sixth anniversary of the drinking water switch that led to the city’s water crisis.

Improperly treated water drawn from the Flint River exposed city residents to lead and other contaminants.

Update: January 17, 2020 at 6:24 p.m.  

Former Central Michigan University student Ian Elliott pleaded no contest to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct on Friday.

That's a lesser charge than what Elliott initially pleaded to last summer.

But the Michigan Attorney General's Office agreed to let Elliott withdraw his previous plea.

Liane Shekter-Smith sat quietly in court Wednesday as the Michigan Solicitor General railed against the plea deal that was about to lead to the dismissal of the case against her.

Michigan’s Attorney General’s office is “encouraged” by a change in the Vatican’s position on sexual abuse investigations.

This week, Pope Francis abolished the use of the Vatican's highest level of secrecy in handling clergy sexual abuse cases. The move could provide prosecutors greater access to previously hidden church documents and testimony.

There's been a major shakeup in the case of a former Central Michigan University student who was convicted of sexual assault this summer.

On August 2nd, Ian Elliott pleaded "no contest" to assaulting fellow student Rachel Wilson, and was sentenced to one year in prison.

But the prosecutor in the case, Assistant Attorney General Brian Kolodziej, resigned the next month for having an "inappropriate relationship" with Wilson, the victim. 

A former Catholic priest has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after a Detroit-area jury said it was having trouble reaching a unanimous verdict in his sexual abuse trial.

The Michigan Attorney General's office says Patrick Casey pleaded guilty Tuesday to aggravated assault. He was accused of engaging in sex acts with a younger man who was struggling with his Catholic faith and homosexuality and had sought Casey's counsel in 2013.

The maximum penalty is a year in jail.  

A special task force has come up with a new tool to combat elder abuse in Michigan.

It may only appear to be a simple form to be filled out by a police officer. But prosecutors and law enforcement officials say the standardized form, along with new online training, will help prosecute cases of physical abuse and financial exploitation of older Michiganders.

Michigan’s attorney general is getting behind a push to change federal law to allow banks to do business with marijuana companies.

Even in states like Michigan, where marijuana is legal, marijuana remains a "cash" business.

Michigan’s Attorney General’s office has sent new documents to a congressional committee investigating the Flint water crisis.

Attorney General Dana Nessel is scheduled to give her first public briefing on three major state cases this week. Nessel said she’ll be joined by Michigan State Police Colonel Joe Gasper and Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud.

These are all cases that Nessel inherited from former Attorney General Bill Schuette, and Nessel has been tight lipped about her plans for these cases.

We will learn soon if Michigan’s new attorney general wants to take the Flint water crisis criminal investigation into a new direction.

Dana Nessel was critical of the criminal probe into the Flint water crisis when she was running for Michigan attorney general last year. Now that she is the attorney general, Nessel has some decisions to make.

A Nessel spokeswoman says, “No decisions have been made regarding the prosecution team” at this time.  But that time may be coming.

A state House bill that would allow the Legislature to intervene in court cases was passed by a Senate committee Tuesday.

Critics say the goal of the bills is to strip power from the newly elected Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel.

The two major party candidates for Michigan attorney general are debating over why they have not had any debates. 

There have been debates proposed between Democrat Dana Nessel and Republican Tom Leonard. But they have fallen through because of who else was invited to share the stage.

A liberal group plans to appeal a judge’s decision dismissing its lawsuit claiming the Republican candidate for Michigan governor used his office for political gain.

The group, Progress Michigan, claimed in its lawsuit filed in May that Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette violated the state Constitution by using his office for political patronage and his state employees for campaign purposes.

There’s been a sharp increase in the number of absentee ballot requests before next month’s election. Almost a million absentee ballots have been requested; that’s up more than 20% from 2014. 

Mark Grebner is a Democratic political consultant. He believes more absentee voters bodes well for Democrats in statewide races.

Michigan’s hard hitting race for Attorney General is moving into its final month.

TV ads have been running for weeks taking shots at both Democrat Dana Nessel and Republican Tom Leonard.

The Michigan Secretary of State must place an independent candidate for Attorney General’s name on the November ballot if he submits the right paperwork, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Independent candidate Christopher Graveline submitted nominating petitions with over 14,000 signatures by the state deadline in July. But those were rejected because Graveline did not meet the 30,000-signature threshold required by state law.

A federal prosecutor has quit his job to launch an independent candidacy for Michigan attorney general.

Christopher Graveline headed the violent crime unit at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Detroit, prosecuting gang members and drug traffickers. He faces a July 19 deadline to collect 30,000 signatures from voters to get on the November ballot.

Graveline has support from Barbara McQuade, his former boss and a University of Michigan law professor. McQuade was U.S. attorney for eastern Michigan under President Barack Obama.