Attorneys for Michigan’s state health department director are asking a judge to block a lower court decision to send a case against him to trial.
The charges are related to the Flint water crisis.
Last month, a district court judge decided the state had presented enough evidence to warrant binding over State Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyon for trial.
Lyon is charged with involuntary manslaughter and other charges connected to a deadly Legionnaires' Disease outbreak in Genesee County.
At least a dozen people died and scores more were hospitalized with the pneumonia-like illness. The case against Lyon links his actions with the deaths of two men in 2015. The 2014-2015 outbreak coincided with the Flint water crisis.
This week, Lyon’s attorneys filed motions with the circuit court to quash the judge’s decision to send the case to trial. They claim there is “no proof” Lyon “willfully neglected” or “refused to perform” his duty.
Lyon is one of 15 current and former government officials charged in connection with the Flint water crisis. Four defendants reached plea deals with prosecutors. One other defendant waived his preliminary hearing.
