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Former Michigan governor expected to appear briefly at Flint water crisis civil trial this week

Former Gov. Rick Snyder (R-MI)
Steve Carmody / Michigan Radio
Former Gov. Rick Snyder (R-MI)

Former Governor Rick Snyder is expected to appear in court this week as part of a Flint water crisis lawsuit.

The former governor's time in the witness chair Thursday is expected to be brief. He is expected to take the Fifth before the jury in a lawsuit on behalf of four Flint children against two firms that consulted on the city's water system.

Snyder is one of five former government officials fighting to invoke their constitutional right against self-incrimination.

The five are facing criminal charges in connection with the Flint water crisis. A federal judge says they cannot take the Fifth now, since they did not when they gave pre-trial depositions in this case.

The issue is before a federal appeals court, but it likely won't be resolved until this civil trial is over.