Richard Hebron tries to take an optimistic view of the Cass County prosecutor’s pending decision on whether or not to file charges in the Family Farms Cooperative raw-milk case.
He takes heart from the fact that many dozens of co-op members have written testimonials on his behalf—discussing the importance of civil liberties, the kind of agricultural system they’d like to see, and specific health issues raw milk has helped them deal with. He’s also heard talk that the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) is being urged to withdraw the case, and has the power to end the entire affair.
“We’ve had a lot of good support in Michigan,” he told me today.
The reality, though, is that the Cass County prosecutor, Victor Fitz, still hasn’t made a decision about whether to file charges and, if he does decide to file, what charges they would be.
He told me today that he is still awaiting one additional report, from another state besides Michigan—“some other information that would be helpful” in the decision-making process. He wouldn’t be more specific about what that information is about.
He also wouldn’t speculate on when he’ll have a decision, and allows that part of the reason he hesitates to give an estimate is that he’s been overly optimistic a couple of times previously. The last time he made an estimate was Jan. 5, when he predicted a decision would come within two weeks.
This case has been dragging out well over three months now since Hebron was pulled over last Oct. 13 by Michigan State Police and MDA agents, and his inventory confiscated; later his home was searched and his computer and business records taken. He’s received most of his coolers back, but his computer is still being held and Hebron recently invested about $1,500 in new computer equipment–certainly an expense he didn’t need.
Fitz said lawyers in his office have reviewed the testimonials from co-op members. He also said that the MDA couldn’t decide independently to pull the case and not have charges filed. “The prosecutor is the sole determinant of whether charges are filed,” he stated.
So the waiting continues. Hebron continues doing the co-op’s business, delivering milk and other dairy products. Things are fine in Michigan, where he has set drop-off points, but he’s had difficulty arranging for new drop-off points to replace three he lost in the aftermath of the sting operation last October. He’s only replaced one, and that is creating frustration among co-op members there. His challenge: “Should I continue trying to get sites back up” there in the face of the “risk of being shut down” at any time by the Michigan prosecutor?
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