Schuette should take children’s side in Flint Water Lawsuit

LANSING – The Michigan League of Conservation Voters today called on Attorney General Bill Schuette to stand up for Flint children and their parents who are demanding justice for kids poisoned during the Flint water crisis.  Schuette’s motion to dismiss the case was rejected by a federal judge in September.  Federal courts are expected to begin hearing testimony on the case soon, after repeated attempts to seek mediation, with the judge involved in the case even asking whether Schuette had thought of “coming in on behalf of the children?”

As the people’s lawyer, Bill Schuette should be front-and-center in defending these innocent children who were poisoned with toxins for two years — yet his office is leading the charge to block full wrap-around services for every kid in Flint,” said Bob Allison, deputy director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. “Schuette should be standing tall for the children of Flint, not protecting the bureaucrats and insiders who put children’s health at-risk and made Michigan a national symbol of government ineptitude and failure.”

The court case (No. 2:16-cv-13694) is on behalf of 15 Flint children and is being heard by U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow.  The hearing is expected to last for several days and include testimony from experts including Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, the pediatrician and public health advocate whose research revealed Flint children were exposed to high levels of lead.

The lawsuit charges that state and local officials have been dragging their feet when it comes to the expensive and time-consuming task of identifying poisoning among the estimated 30,000 children affected by high lead levels and providing them with special education services as required by federal law.