Public Media from Michigan State University

Court Of Appeals Convenes Grand Jury To Investigate Meningitis Deaths

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A special Michigan grand jury will investigate meningitis deaths and illnesses linked to a medical compound created by a Massachusetts company.

As The Michigan Public Radio Network’s Rick Pluta reports, the grand jury will look into whether criminal laws were broken

The grand jury inquiry will be led by Livingston County Circuit Judge David Reader. The grand jurors will come from Livingston, Genessee, Macomb, and Grand Traverse counties. That’s where 14 people lived who died from meningitis or some other infection linked to a steroid created by the New England Compounding Center. Two more Michiganders have died from the tainted injections since the request for a grand jury was filed. 

The request was filed by state Attorney General Bill Schuette and it was granted by a two-to-one vote by an appeals court panel of judges. One judge dissented, saying the attorney general had not established probable cause that a Michigan law was broken.

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Rick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987. His journalism background includes stints with UPI, The Elizabeth (NJ) Daily Journal, The (Pontiac, MI) Oakland Press, and WJR. He is also a lifelong public radio listener.