(WWJ/AP) Lawyers for Rick Snyder want only unimpacted out-of-towners weighing Michigan's former governor's guilt or innocence when he heads to trial in Flint.
Snyder's attorney believe Flint residents have possible conflicts of interest, and therefore should not be allowed serve as judges or jurors in his criminal case related to the deadly water crisis in the city.
Snyder's legal team put its views in a letter requested by a judge before a hearing Tuesday.
Snyder, 62, is charged with two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty in connection with lead found in drinking water in Flint.
Snyder-appointed emergency managers, in a money-saving move, switched Flint's water supply to the Flint River in 2014 without properly treating it to reduce corrosion.
Lead then infiltrated the system through aging pipes, and into homes and businesses in the already struggling city.
Initially, state officials denied there was a problem and put up a vociferous defense against residents who said they had developed strange rashes and other health ailments. After outcries from outspoken doctors, tests were conducted and they were forced to concede lead was at dangerously high levels.
A public health emergency was declared in Flint in 2016.
In addition to lingering illnesses, especially among children who were poisoned by lead, Flint had 12 deaths from Legionnaires Disease tied to the water system.
Snyder's lawyers noted that Flint residents stand to benefit from a $641 million lawsuit settlement over lead contamination and deaths from Legionnaire; one of the largest settlements in state history.
A status conference in the case was set for Tuesday.
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