The Michigan Supreme Court ruled June 28 that a single Genesee County judge acting as a grand jury had no power to indict former Gov. Rick Snyder (R) and eight other state officials for damage done by the Flint water crisis in 2014 and 2015.
Appointing a judge to investigate as a somewhat oxymoronic "single grand juror" is a relic of Michigan law that goes back more than 100 years to when police departments, sheriffs and other law enforcement agencies lacked investigatory powers and could not subpoena witnesses or interview suspects. It's been used sparingly in most of the state except for three counties, usually in drug trafficking cases over the last three decades.