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| The ethical conflict of interests of the Michigan Attorney General |
For almost a decade I have intensely analyzed, isolated, and threw out to feed the politically voracious leaders who wish to address the rights of society.
I have torn apart the one small power yet to be questioned, which was over looked by the mightiest state attorney general in the nation, built by the one and only Frank Kelly.
How can the state attorney general contemporaneously "advocate and advise"?
See, in child welfare, it is the Michigan Attorney General who prosecutes cases of child abuse and neglect, and also termination of parental rights.
The Michigan Attorney General also represents the privatized contractual arms of child welfare.
A series of state laws rammed through the legislature, in essence, stripped immunities from these state contracts.
Prior to that, the Michigan Emergency Manager Law put in a cute little section, basically saying that the state can throw any emergency manager under the bus.
The executive Office of the State of Michigan has granted itself with the powers to grant immunities.
I even know of a situation where a city has granted itself immunities, or rather, a very unique interpretation of the transfer of immunities, found somewhere in the Type III Transfers under state executive orders.
I could go through and insert lots of hyperlinks to support my position in previous posts, but I just realized that I wrote a book on this.
In essence, the attorney general can pick and choose who it represents, devoid of any ethical standard.
If they will do it to kids, they will do it to their own employees.
UPDATE: TOLD YA SO
DEQ workers will get state-funded lawyers in Flint case
and this is why:
FBI joins Flint drinking water investigation
It seems Mr. Schuette had a change of heart once the feds stepped in.
State might not defend DEQ workers in Flint water suit
Attorney general says his office can defend only Snyder, state
A new legal migraine could be kicking in for seven Michigan Department of Environmental Quality employees who are being sued over the Flint water crisis.
According to a federal court filing, State Attorney General Bill Schuette said his office "likely" can’t defend the DEQ workers and that they need to find their own lawyers to represent them in a pending lawsuit filed by Flint residents. Schuette has asked a federal judge to decide the issue of whether his office has to defend the DEQ employees -- which is typically done when a state agency or its employees get sued -- or if they should get their own attorneys.
"We’re not just opening the door and sending them out into the world with no assistance," Schuette spokeswoman ... said of the DEQ employees. "We’re going to work with the governor’s office to make sure these folks have lawyers."
DEQ officials declined comment citing pending litigation, but said it is reviewing Schuette's recommendation that the DEQ employees get their own attorneys.
In a move that could suggest friction is building between various state agencies over the Flint fiasco, Schuette has said that his office can defend the governor and state, but not the DEQ employees, because their interests could be at odds as defendants in the case.
“As the issues surrounding the situation in Flint have unfolded, particularly in the last week, it has become apparent that there is a potential conflict of interest between the Governor and State of Michigan on the one hand, and the individual MDEQ employees on the other,” Schuette wrote in a late Friday filing in the court case. “Given this conflict, counsel have determined it is likely they cannot effectively represent both sets of clients.”
Schuette, consequently, asked the court for an additional 30 days to respond to the allegations in the lawsuit, saying he needs more time to go over the case, and the DEQ defendants need more time to find a new lawyer.
The lawsuit centers on allegations by Flint residents that the city and state endangered their health by exposing them to dangerous lead levels in their tap water after switching their supply last year in a move to save money.
Specifically, the lawsuit revolves around Flint’s decision in 2014 to switch to water from the Flint River instead of Detroit's water system, after Gov. Rick Snyder had placed the city under an emergency financial manager.
The switch, the lawsuit claims, has triggered a host of health issues,including dry skin, lesions and respiratory disorders. And even though Snyder decided in October to switch Flint back to Detroit’s water system, the lawsuit says the move is too late and that too many people have already been harmed.
The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of 10 plaintiffs, but seeks class-action status on behalf of all Flint residents. The plaintiffs want compensatory and punitive damages, a medical monitoring fund to be created, and the appointment of a monitor to oversee Flint's water.
The defendants are Snyder, the state of Michigan, seven DEQ employees, the city of Flint, two former emergency managers of Flint, the former Flint mayor and three city employees.
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