Clinton County sheriff sues prosecutor over FOIA memo

On Thursday, Sept. 24, Clinton County Sheriff Sean Dush filed a lawsuit in the county’s Circuit Court alleging that the county prosecutor’s office violated Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act by failing to provide a memorandum in response to a June 18 public records request submitted by Dush’s attorney, Mike Nichols of Nichols Law Firm.

The lawsuit stems from a theft of a department‑issued handgun that was later found in the possession of a minor. Dush hired Nichols after prosecutor Tony Spagnuolo sought criminal charges against him in connection with the theft. Nichols requested “any and all communications from the Clinton County Prosecutor’s Office to the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan and/or the Department of Attorney General regarding Sheriff Sean Dush.” The memo was omitted from the prosecutor’s July 9 response, but Nichols later obtained it through separate FOIA requests to the Ionia County Prosecutor’s Office and the Michigan Attorney General’s Office.

Dush seeks a finding that the prosecutor’s office violated FOIA’s procedural requirements and an award of attorney fees and costs, $2,000 in punitive damages and a $1,000 civil fine, with an enhanced civil fine of $2,500 to $7,500 if the court finds the prosecutor acted willfully or in bad faith. The lawsuit also aims to bring the matter to public attention, according to Nichols, who said the case “shows loyalty and tyranny” and that voters need to know about the conduct.

Read the full story at argus-press.com.