Flint’s ex-DPW director wants judge disqualified from hearing water crisis case against him

FLINT, MI -- Flint’s former Department of Public Works director says the judge assigned to hear his criminal water crisis case should be disqualified because the judge himself is an alleged victim of the crimes he’s charged with. Attorneys for Howard Croft filed a motion to disqualify Genesee District Court Judge William H. Crawford on Thursday, Jan. 28, saying the judge is currently and was a resident of Flint during the city’s water crisis, making him a potential claimant in civil lawsuits in which Croft is a settling defendant “and potentially a member of a class action against Mr. Croft, if a class or classes are certified.” “If Mr. Croft was alleged to have robbed Judge Crawford ... of...