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City Dropped 50 Misdemeanor Cases After Ordinances Expired

Lansing city hall. WKAR file photo.

A newspaper reports city prosecutors in mid-Michigan dropped 50 misdemeanor cases after the Lansing City Council accidentally let hundreds of ordinances expire last year.

The Lansing State Journal reports officials discovered in February that the council neglected to renew at least 100 local laws.

The council has since voted to renew the ordinances for 10 years. The city attorney's office dismissed charges against 82 people and refereed 32 of those to Ingham County prosecutors for review.

Lansing's charter says council must vote every 10 years either to re-codify city ordinances or to confirm its intention to let certain ordinances expire.

The city clerk is supposed to notify city council six months before an ordinance is set to expire, but City Clerk Chris Swope confirmed he didn't due to an oversight.

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