The Wayne County prosecutor says she’ll appeal a ruling that lets a former state senator run for the Detroit City Council even though he promised not to seek public office.
Former state Senator Virgil Smith agreed not to run for another office for at least five years. It was part of a plea deal to settle charges that he shot bullets into his ex-wife’s car. But a judge refused to accept that part of the deal. That cleared the way for Smith to file to run for the Detroit City Council. The Michigan Court of Appeals agreed that a judge can’t set that kind of condition on a member of the legislative branch.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says she’ll challenge the decision before the state Supreme Court. Whatever the Supreme Court decides will help determine how prosecutors deal with elected officials who run afoul of the law.