Dana Michelle Nessel (born April 19, 1969) is an American politician and lawyer, serving as the
54th attorney general of Michigan
The attorney general of the State of Michigan is the fourth-ranking official in the U.S. state of Michigan. The officeholder is elected statewide in the November general election alongside the governor of Michigan, governor, Lieutenant Governor of ...
since January 2019. She is a member of the
Democratic Party.
Nessel is the
second openly lesbian woman elected
attorney general of a state in the United States (after
Maura Healey
Maura Tracy Healey (born February 8, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 73rd governor of Massachusetts since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she served as Massachusetts Attorney Ge ...
), and the
first openly LGBT person elected to statewide office in
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. She is also the first
Jewish person elected Attorney General of Michigan.
In 2014, Nessel successfully argued for the plaintiffs in ''
DeBoer v. Snyder'', which challenged Michigan's ban on the
statewide legal recognition of same-sex marriage;
the case was eventually combined with others and appealed to the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
as ''
Obergefell v. Hodges
''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of th ...
,'' which led to the
nationwide legal recognition of same-sex marriage.
Early life and education
Nessel was born in
West Bloomfield Township, Michigan
West Bloomfield Township is a charter township in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern suburb of Detroit, West Bloomfield is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the township had a population o ...
, the daughter of Martin and Sandra Nessel.
She is Jewish.
[ She was raised in West Bloomfield and graduated from ]West Bloomfield High School
West Bloomfield High School is a public school (government funded), public high school in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, West Bloomfield, Michigan. The school is the only public high school in the West Bloomfield School District. The Scho ...
in 1987, where she played soccer and was named All-State.
Nessel received a Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
with a major in political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
from the University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
in 1990 and a Juris Doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
from Wayne State University Law School
Wayne State University Law School (Wayne Law) is the law school of Wayne State University in Detroit. Wayne Law is located in Midtown, Detroit's Cultural Center. Founded in 1927, the law school offers juris doctor (J.D.), master of laws (LL.M.), ...
in 1994. While in college, she also performed standup comedy for several years. While in law school, she was an intern in the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.
Career
After graduating from law school, Nessel worked as an assistant prosecutor in Wayne County for eleven years. She was the primary attorney on over 1,665 cases dealing with homicides
Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent act ...
, armed robberies, child abuse
Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...
, sex crime
Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes.
Some laws regarding sexual activity are ...
s, carjacking
Carjacking is a robbery in which a motor vehicle is taken over.Michael Cherbonneau, "Carjacking," in ''Encyclopedia of Social Problems'', Vol. 1 (SAGE, 2008: ed. Vincent N. Parrillo), pp. 110-11. In contrast to car theft, carjacking is usually i ...
s and drug crimes.
In 2005, Nessel opened her legal firm, Nessel and Kessel Law, where she handled criminal defense
In the field of criminal law, there are a variety of conditions that will tend to negate elements of a crime (particularly the ''intent'' element), known as defenses. The label may be apt in jurisdictions where the ''accused'' may be assigned some ...
cases, civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
actions, family law
Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.
Overview
Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include:
* Marriag ...
matters, and general tort
A tort is a civil wrong, other than breach of contract, that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with cri ...
litigation. While in private practice, she successfully represented the plaintiffs
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of the ...
in '' DeBoer v. Snyder'' (2014).
Michigan Attorney General (2019–present)
In 2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, Nessel won the Democratic Party nomination for Michigan Attorney General over former U.S. Attorney
United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...
for Western Michigan
West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...
Patrick Miles Jr. She then narrowly defeated Republican state House Speaker Tom Leonard and three other candidates in the general election. She succeeded term-limited Republican Bill Schuette
William Duncan Schuette ( ; born October 13, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd attorney general of Michigan from 2011 to 2019. He was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Senate in 1990 and for Governor of Mi ...
who ran unsuccessfully for the office of Governor.
Nessel was sworn into office on January 1, 2019. She is the first openly LGBTQ person elected to statewide office in Michigan. She is the first Democrat to serve as attorney general since Jennifer Granholm
Jennifer Mulhern Granholm (born February 5, 1959) is an American politician who was the 16th United States secretary of energy from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she previously served as the 47t ...
left the office in 2003, sixteen years earlier to become the new Michigan Governor.
Nessel immediately withdrew Michigan from eight federal lawsuits initiated by Schuette involving the separation of church and state, LGBTQ discrimination, environmental protection, and abortion.
Hate Crimes Unit
After a rise of hate crime
Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...
s in Michigan for two years in a row, Nessel launched a Hate Crimes Unit within the Criminal Division of the Department of Attorney General. Before Nessel took office, the Michigan Department of Attorney General did not have any personnel assigned solely to the investigation and prosecution of hate crime
Hate crime (also known as bias crime) in criminal law involves a standard offence (such as an assault, murder) with an added element of bias against a victim (individual or group of individuals) because of their physical appearance or perceived ...
s.
Conviction Integrity Unit
Nessel launched a new Conviction Integrity Unit within the Department of Attorney General's Criminal Appellate Division. The unit investigates credible claims of innocence and rectifies wrongful convictions. To do this, officials work with county prosecutors, law enforcement officials, defense attorneys, and innocence clinic projects.
Consumer Protection Division
Under her Consumer Protection Division, Nessel launched the state's first Payroll Fraud Enforcement Unit to investigate Michigan establishments that illegally misclassify workers or withhold wages and benefits. She also established the Department's Auto Insurance Fraud Unit, which received over 3,000 cases in four months.
Keeping her promise to protect and defend consumers and ratepayers, Nessel saved utility customers $3.6 million after intervening in SEMCO Energy's gas recovery plan case. As of the end of 2019, Nessel has helped save Michigan utility ratepayers a combined $355,809,700.
Elder Abuse Task Force
In collaboration with the Michigan Supreme Court
The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the s ...
, Nessel launched the Michigan Elder Abuse
Elder abuse (also called elder mistreatment, senior abuse, abuse in later life, abuse of older adults, abuse of older women, and abuse of older men) is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where ...
Task Force to combat physical abuse, financial exploitation, emotional abuse, and neglect of senior citizens. Nearly 50 different organizations including law enforcement, state agencies, the Michigan House of Representatives
The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...
, Michigan Senate
The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...
, Michigan Congressional delegation, and advocacy groups, have joined the task force. The task force initiatives include requiring professional guardians to become certified, developing statutory basic rights for families, reviewing the process of a guardian removing a ward from their home, and limiting the number of wards per guardian.
Michigan state COVID-19 pandemic policy
In March 2021, Nessel decided not to launch a criminal investigation into the impact of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
policy of placing elderly patients who tested positive for COVID-19 in the same nursing home facilities as patients who did not contract coronavirus. At the time of Nessel's decision, an estimated 35% of all Michigan coronavirus deaths had occurred in long-term care facilities. The Michigan state government had been accused of underreporting deaths from COVID-19 that had occurred in long-term care facilities, and had denied freedom of information requests to investigate the matter. The Michigan Office of the Auditor General later reviewed the state's coronavirus data and found that the long-term care facility coronavirus death count up to July 2021 had underreported deaths in these facilities by 42%, while Governor Whitmer denies the findings in the audit. Auditor General Doug Ringler claimed that his office "didn't feel the word 'underreport' was fair. We cited it as a difference."
Robocall crackdown effort
Nessel started a statewide campaign to crack down on illegal robocalls targeting Michigan residents. This campaign includes initiatives to educate the public, toughen enforcement, and update state law. As of March 2020, over 2,400 caller complaints of illegal robocalls had been received by Nessel's office.
Additionally, Nessel joined a bipartisan group of state attorneys general in filing a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in '' Barr v. American Assn. of Political Consultants, Inc.''; the AGs argued in favor of preserving the anti-robocall provisions of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA) was passed by the United States Congress in 1991 and signed into law by President George H. W. Bush as Public Law 102-243. It amended the Communications Act of 1934. The TCPA is codified as ...
.
Target of antisemitic threat
On March 2, 2023, Nessel announced that she was among several Jewish government officials targeted in antisemitic threats made on social media by a heavily armed Michigan man. Jack Eugene Carpenter III, of Tipton, Michigan, was charged in federal court with transmitting an interstate threat, a felony. Carpenter was accused of tweeting from Texas in February 2023: "I'm heading back to Michigan now threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is jewish in the Michigan govt if they don't leave, or confess." Carpenter possessed three handguns, a shotgun, and two rifles, and was under investigation for stealing a handgun, according to federal prosecutors. Commenting on the threat on Twitter, Nessel stated: "It is my sincere hope that the federal authorities take this offense just as seriously as my Hate Crimes & Domestic Terrorism Unit takes plots to murder elected officials."
High-profile cases and investigations
Catholic Church investigation
Nessel took over the department's investigation into Catholic Church sexual abuse cases
There have been many cases of sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests, priests, nuns, and Sexual abuse scandals in Catholic orders and societies, other members of religious life in the Catholic Church. In the late 20th and early 21st c ...
from her predecessor, Bill Schuette. As of December 2019, the Department of Attorney General has received 641 tips on its clergy abuse hotline, identified 270 priests alleged to be abusers from dioceses in Marquette, Gaylord, and Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...
, and received allegations involving 552 victims of clergy sexual abuse since the beginning of the investigation. So far, 1.5 million paper documents and 3.5 million electronic documents have been seized. The investigation team has reviewed 130 cases for potential charges, 50 of which were closed because the statute of limitations barred prosecution or the priest in question had died. Twenty-five cases have been referred back to the diocese for action because the priests were in active ministry.
In a February 2019 news conference, Nessel accused Catholic Church leadership of failing to cooperating with law enforcement, and criticized them for encouraging some victims to sign confidential settlements or nondisclosure agreements. Nessel told church officials to stop "self-policing" sexual abuse within the church and to encourage victims to talk with state investigators, adding "If an investigator comes to your door and asks to speak with you, please ask to see their badge and not their rosary
The Rosary (; , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), formally known as the Psalter of Jesus and Mary (Latin: Psalterium Jesu et Mariae), also known as the Dominican Rosary (as distinct from other forms of rosary such as the ...
." Some criticized Nessel for the "rosary" statement, viewing it as an insensitive barb against a devotional practice.
In October 2020, Nessel released interim report with results of her office's two-year investigation; the office's report accused 454 priests of sexually abusing 811 people in the state of Michigan across all seven dioceses. Eleven priests were charged in Michigan with sex crimes from 2019 onward: several pleaded guilty, with extradition
In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...
proceedings against others were pending.[ In October 2022, Nessel released a detailed report on allegations of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Marquette, listing abuse allegations, dating back to 1950, against 44 priests.][DIOCESE OF MARQUETTE: A Complete Accounting]
Dana Nessel, Attorney General (October 27, 2022). This is the first of seven diocese-by-diocese final reports that the AG's Office plans to release.[
]
Michigan State University investigation
After the Larry Nassar
Lawrence Gerard Nassar (born August 16, 1963) is an American former family medicine osteopathic physician and convicted sex offender. From 1996 to 2014, he was the team doctor of the United States women's national gymnastics team, where he use ...
scandal, Nessel's office launched an investigation into Michigan State University
Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
(MSU). Nessel charged two former university employees and one former university employee. Kathie Klages, the head coach for MSU's gymnastics team while Nassar was team doctor; Lou Anna Simon
Lou Anna Kimsey Simon is an American academic administrator who served as the 20th president of Michigan State University (MSU). Simon was appointed interim president of the university in 2003, then served as president from 2005. She resigned und ...
, who was MSU president during the investigation (and remains an MSU professor); and William Strampel, former dean of the MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine. Strampel, who as dean was a former boss of Nasser, was convicted in a jury trial
A jury trial, or trial by jury, is a legal proceeding in which a jury makes a decision or findings of fact. It is distinguished from a bench trial, in which a judge or panel of judges makes all decisions.
Jury trials are increasingly used ...
of one felony count of misconduct in office and two misdemeanor counts of willful neglect of duty, and an appeals court upheld the convictions in 2021. Klages was convicted of obstruction of justice
In United States jurisdictions, obstruction of justice refers to a number of offenses that involve unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investiga ...
in 2018 and sentenced to 90 days in jail, but the Michigan Court of Appeals
The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reporter (law), reported both in an officia ...
vacated the conviction in 2022 on a 2–1 vote. The charges against Simon were dismissed in 2020; Nessel's office appealed, but a Michigan Court of Appeals panel unanimously upheld the dismissal in 2022; in a concurring opinion
In law, a concurring opinion is in certain legal systems a written opinion by one or more judges of a court which agrees with the decision made by the Majority opinion, majority of the court, but states different (or additional) reasons as the bas ...
, Judge Elizabeth L. Gleicher criticized the investigation into Simon as a "sham" and wrote that the former university president was a "scapegoat" and "high profile target, selected to assuage public anger rather than to protect the integrity of the law."
In 2019, Nessel said her department is at an impasse with MSU as they continue to withhold more than 6,000 documents under the claim of attorney-client privilege. Nessel, survivors, and activists continue to call on the university to release the documents. In 2023, the MSU board of trustees voted against waiving privilege over the documents.
Enbridge Line 5 lawsuits
In 2018, Michigan passed legislation approved under former Governor Rick Snyder codifying an agreement between the state and Enbridge
Enbridge Inc. is a multinational pipeline transport, pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Enbridge owns and operates pipelines throughout Canada and the United States, transporting crude oil, natural gas, and n ...
Energy to replace the Enbridge Line 5, sitting on the lakebed underneath the Straits of Mackinac
The Straits of Mackinac ( ; ) are the short waterways between the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas, traversed by the Mackinac Bridge. The main strait is wide with a maximum depth of , and connects the Great Lakes of Lake M ...
with a tunnel below the bedrock. Despite a judge's ruling upholding the law in March 2019, Nessel issued an opinion that month stating the law was unconstitutional “because its provisions go beyond the scope of what was disclosed in its title." After Enbridge filed a lawsuit, a Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled in favor of Enbridge and rejected Nessel's reasoning, stating, "the argument advanced by defendants misses the mark."
Upon appeal to the Michigan Court of Appeals
The Michigan Court of Appeals is the intermediate-level appellate court of the state of Michigan. It was created by the Michigan Constitution of 1963, and commenced operations in 1965. Its opinions are reporter (law), reported both in an officia ...
, Nessel's request to overturn the Court of Claims decision was denied and her opinion was again overruled, allowing Enbridge to continue work on the tunnel and requiring the state to process the necessary permits.
In June 2019, Nessel filed suit independently in Ingham County Circuit Court, seeking an order requiring Line 5 to shut down (permanently decommission) "after reasonable notice"; the suit argues that the operation of Line 5 violates the public trust doctrine
The public trust doctrine is the principle that the sovereign holds in trust for public use some resources such as shoreline between the high and low tide lines, regardless of private property ownership.
Origins Roman law
Ancient Roman law se ...
, is a common-law public nuisance
In English criminal law, public nuisance is an act, condition or thing that is illegal because it interferes with the rights of the general public.
In Australia
In ''Kent v Johnson'', the Supreme Court of the ACT held that public nuisance is ...
, and violates the Michigan Environmental Protection Act because of its likeliness to cause pollution to and destruction of the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
and other natural resources. The attorneys general of Minnesota, Wisconsin and California have filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of Nessel's lawsuit. In 2021, the case was removed to federal court. Proceedings were delayed while the parties battled over whether the suit would be heard in state or federal court; in August 2022, a federal judge ruled that the case would be heard in federal court.
PFAS contamination lawsuit
In January 2020, Nessel filed suit against seventeen companies, including 3M and DuPont
Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to:
People
* Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...
, alleging the toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) chemical manufacturers “intentionally hid” known health and environmental risks from the public and state while continuing to sell the PFAS chemicals since the 1950s. The suit seeks to hold the companies financially responsible for all past and future costs associated with the contamination at dozens of sites across the state of Michigan.
Flint Water Crisis investigation
= Campaign
=
While campaigning to become Attorney General for Michigan, Nessel made a series of statements regarding the Flint Water Crisis
The Flint water crisis was a public health crisis from 2014 to 2019 which involved the drinking water for the city of Flint, Michigan, being contaminated with lead and possibly ''Legionella'' bacteria.
In April 2014, during a financial crisis, ...
and its investigation leading up to the 2018 Michigan Attorney General election which took place on November 6, 2018.
* On April 4, 2018, then-candidate Nessel met with community members at the Flint Public Library and spoke with NBC 25, a local television station which serves Flint and the Tri-Cities area. If elected, Nessel said she would not be held to corporate interests, and would protect the citizens of Flint. "The last thing we need is to have people in government that poison their own residents, that engage in cover-ups, or who use a terrible incident like that to politicize the office of attorney general and use it for their own personal gain. We need someone who just cares about our state residents once again and that’s what I want to do,” said Nessel.
* On October 12, 2018 Nessel told WDET-FM, a public radio station in Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, she "did not believe that these cases have been handled correctly.” Nessel hinted at the possibility of withdrawing or dismissing charges, saying "whether or not there are bad actors that should have been charged or not, including the governor, I think that has to be reevaluated and reexamined,” she says.
* Nessel had told the Macomb Daily on October 18, 2018 she "could see he potential for expanded prosecutions and "did not agree with the way the prosecutions adunfolded." Nessel cited her opposition to Todd Flood, a prominent donor to then Governor Rick Snyder, being named as the crisis' special prosecutor who would potentially investigate Snyder.
* That same day, Nessel had told Michigan Radio she was "suspect of he Flintinvestigation quite frankly from the beginning. Nessel felt "political expediency was being prioritized instead of justice." As Attorney General, she said she would "take a second look at the investigation, make certain that all of the people who have charges pending have been charged properly and look to see if there’s anyone who should have been charged, but who hasn’t been."
* In a series of three videos produced and released between September and October 2018 by her campaign, "Dana Nessel For Michigan Attorney General," Nessel stood before Michigan's waterways and promised a tough stance on justice for the city of Flint along with committing to other protections regarding clean water for Michiganders.
= Dismissal of charges
=
After assuming office and taking over the investigation of the Flint Water Crisis from former Attorney General Bill Schuette, Nessel announced that she would be handling the settlements of the 79 Flint civil lawsuits while Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy would handle the criminal cases.
On June 13, 2019, Michigan Attorney General Nessel's office dismissed all pending criminal cases tied to the Flint water crisis
The Flint water crisis was a public health crisis from 2014 to 2019 which involved the drinking water for the city of Flint, Michigan, being contaminated with lead and possibly ''Legionella'' bacteria.
In April 2014, during a financial crisis, ...
. Under Michigan's previous attorney general, a Republican, 15 people were charged with crimes related to the water crisis. Several pleaded no contest and were convicted. Prosecutorial overreach possibly tainting the judicial process plagued the investigation from the beginning.
The dismissal effectively ended prosecutions of eight current and former officials accused of neglecting their duties and allowing Flint residents to drink tainted, dangerous water. Children of Flint drank poisoned water with dangerous quantities of lead. At least 12 people died in a Legionnaires’ outbreak that prosecutors linked to the water change. Among the officials whose charges were dropped: the former director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, a state epidemiologist, a former Flint public works director and emergency managers who had been appointed to oversee the city. Some defendants had faced charges as serious as involuntary manslaughter. The defence lawyer for Howard Croft, the former Flint public works director who was charged with involuntary manslaughter, said the "attorney general’s decision validated his concerns about the investigation" and credited Nessel's "courage" in deciding to dismiss all criminal charges.
The decision to dismiss all charges was met with considerable outrage from Michiganders, clean water activists, and residents of Flint, the latter who felt their crisis was being forgotten. Prosecutors Fadwa Hammoud and Kym Worthy, who oversaw the case, blamed missteps by the previous prosecution team for their office's decision, citing "immediate and grave concerns about the investigative approach and legal theories." Hammoud and Worthy noted they were not precluded from refiling charges against the defendants or adding new charges and defendants.
Nessel defended her prosecutors’ decision to drop the charges, but also sought to assuage the concerns of Flint residents, stating "justice delayed is not always justice denied."
Nessel has since opened the first ever satellite location of the Attorney General's Office in Flint. Two victim advocates reside in the office along with the Flint Water Crisis prosecution team.
Opioid manufacturers lawsuit
Nessel filed a lawsuit on behalf of the state of Michigan in December 2019 against opioid distributors using a law to pursue drug dealers. Nessel said that Michigan is the first state to sue drug manufacturers in this way. The companies involved in the suit are Illinois-based Walgreens
Walgreens is an American pharmacy store chain. It is the second largest in the United States, behind CVS Pharmacy. As of March 2025, the company operated more than 8,700 stores in the U.S.
Walgreens has been the subject of a number of lawsuit ...
, Ohio-based Cardinal Health
Cardinal Health, Inc. is an American multinational health care services company, and the 14th highest revenue generating company in the United States. Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, the company specializes in the distribution of pharmaceuticals ...
Inc., Texas-based McKesson Corporation
McKesson Corporation is a publicly traded American company that distributes Medication, pharmaceuticals and provides health information technology, Medical device, medical supplies, and Health administration, health management tools. The company ...
, and Pennsylvania-based AmerisourceBergen
Cencora, Inc., formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, is an American drug wholesale company and a contract research organization, that was formed by the merger of Bergen Brunswig and AmeriSource in 2001. It is one of the largest pharmaceutica ...
Drug Corporation. According to the suit, the defendant drug companies sold opioids “in ways that facilitated and encouraged their flow into the illegal, secondary market” without proper safeguards, and they failed to monitor or report suspicious orders, including by knowingly selling pain pills to so-called pill mills. The damages against the defendants are projected to exceed $1 billion.
St. Vincent adoption agency lawsuit
Shortly after taking office, Nessel changed state policy to require that contracts with adoption agencies refusing to work directly with LGBT couples be terminated; previously, such agencies had been allowed (and been required) to refer LGBT couples to different adoption agencies. The St. Vincent adoption agency, a Catholic organization, sued Nessel, asking to be allowed to continue operating under state contract as before the new policy. U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker ruled in favor of the adoption agency, writing that "the state's new position targets St. Vincent's religious beliefs." Nessel requested a stay of the ruling, but Jonker denied this as well, stating, "the state has offered nothing new and has failed to come to grips with the factual basis on the preliminary injunction record that supports the inference of religious targeting in this case." In March 2022, the state agreed to pay $550,000 to reimburse St. Vincent's legal fees, along with an additional $250,000 to Catholic Charities of West Michigan, also to reimburse legal fees in a similar case.
Affordable Care Act lawsuit
Shortly after assuming office, Nessel joined a coalition of other attorneys general in a lawsuit to support the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
(PPACA). Nessel cites the “hundreds and thousands” of residents in Michigan who would lose access to healthcare, particularly those with pre-existing conditions, as her reason for joining the suit. The U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
upheld the PPACA in 2021.
Trump fake electors plot
Nessel announced in January 2022 that after a months-long inquiry into the Michigan participants in the Trump fake electors plot
The Trump fake electors plot was an attempt by U.S. president Donald Trump and associates to have him remain in power after losing the 2020 United States presidential election. After the results of the election determined Trump had lost, he, his ...
, she had closed down the state probe and asked the U.S. Justice Department to open a criminal investigation. Deputy U.S. attorney general Lisa Monaco
Lisa Oudens Monaco (born February 25, 1968) is an American attorney who served as the 39th United States Deputy Attorney General, United States deputy attorney general from 2021 to 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), De ...
confirmed days later that the Justice Department was examining the matter. Nessel announced in January 2023 that she was reopening her investigation "because I don't know what the federal government plans to do."
On July 18, 2023, Nessel announced that she had indicted
An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...
sixteen individuals with eight felony counts each, including forgery. According to Nessel, these individuals had knowingly signed a false certificate of ascertainment claiming to be the "duly elected and qualified electors" for Michigan.
University of Michigan student protests
The University of Michigan
The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
board of regents
In the United States, a board often governs institutions of higher education, including private universities, state universities, and community colleges. In each US state, such boards may govern either the state university system, individual co ...
recruited Nessel to crack down on pro-Palestinian student protestors when local prosecutors proved unwilling to do so. In September 2024, she charged several protestors with felonies over their refusal to disperse from the encampment. In April 2025, the FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
and Ann Arbor Police raided the homes of University of Michigan activists in what Nessel called a multijurisdictional investigation into vandalism. In May, the charges against seven protestors were dropped amid scrutiny over Nessel's financial and personal ties to regents and allegations of prosecutorial bias.
Personal life
Nessel met her wife Alanna Maguire while they were both working on the legal case '' DeBoer v. Snyder'', which was ultimately successful in striking down Michigan's ban on same-sex marriage. Nessel proposed to Maguire in 2015 outside of the United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
. The couple married in July 2015 with the marriage being officiated by Judge Bernard Friedman, the judge who had originally struck down Michigan's same-sex marriage ban in March 2014.
Nessel and Maguire have twin sons.
Awards
Electoral history
See also
* List of Jewish American jurists
This is a list of notable Jewish American jurists. For other famous Jewish Americans, see Lists of American Jews.
Supreme Court of the United States
United States courts of appeals
United States district courts
* Ronnie Abrams, J ...
References
External links
Office of the Attorney General
Campaign website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nessel, Dana
1969 births
Living people
21st-century American Jews
21st-century Michigan politicians
21st-century American women politicians
21st-century American LGBTQ people
Jewish American people in Michigan politics
American lesbian politicians
Lesbian Jews
LGBTQ people from Michigan
American LGBTQ lawyers
Michigan attorneys general
Michigan Democrats
University of Michigan alumni
Wayne State University Law School alumni
Women in Michigan politics
Women state constitutional officers of Michigan
21st-century American lawyers
21st-century American women lawyers