By John Lindstrom
Publisher
Posted: December 12, 2019 2:41 PM

The Michigan House Journal for December 11, 2019 will forever show the following on the attendance roll call: "Inman e/d/s. That would be Rep. Larry Inman (R-Williamsburg) entered during session.

The tally on Roll Call Vote 353 of 2019, in the 100th Legislative session will likewise forever show that Mr. Inman voted yes on HB 4204 along with 72 of his colleagues.

Okay, who saw any of that coming? Besides Mr. Inman, that is.

The astonishment was palpable Tuesday evening when the verdicts came down in Grand Rapids federal district court. Mr. Inman, not guilty of lying to a federal agent, and then the hung jury on the other charges.

But they had him dead to rights, so thought most people. They had the texts, they had the witnesses, they had the guy. Apparently, at least on one charge, they had Mr. Inman just like at other times they had John Delorean and Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry.

Mr. Inman is now a member of a very exclusive club. Of the more than 5,000 people who have served in Michigan's Legislature mercifully few have gone to trial on any criminal charges. Even fewer – so few it is not immediately possible to tell if any others have – came away with an acquittal.

Oh, not guilty yet, not guilty yet, we have to remind ourselves, since already steps have been taken to retry Mr. Inman on the issues of extortion and bribery. Yes, there is that still. But now the prosecutors have to decide if they will retry Mr. Inman, and if so, on those charges or perhaps related but lesser charges they might have a better shot at winning a conviction.

Which leaves blank for the moment the question of what if Mr. Inman is acquitted on everything?

Even so, Mr. Inman can easily claim at this moment he was right. Virtually every member of the House called on him to resign. He did not. Look where he is now.

Thousands in his district signed petitions to have him recalled, petitions now held up by legal technicalities. What becomes of those?

He is still denied his office. He is denied membership to committees. Because his behavior was unseemly. Well, throughout most of state history most legislators didn't have an office. Mr. Inman has, though, what they had: the ability to vote on the floor.

The Constitution gives each chamber the right to decide on the credentials of each member. Two legislators who were also not convicted of crimes, those being former Republican Sen. David Jaye and former Republican Rep. Cindy Gamrat, were expelled for behavior unseemly and beneath a legislator.

Could expulsion await Mr. Inman? Well, now you get into question of how icky is this? Mr. Jaye was accused of assaulting his then fiancée. Ms. Gamrat was having an affair with another House member (who himself resigned rather than be expelled). Those met the undefinable-but-know-it-when-you-see-it icky factor. Has Mr. Inman breached that vague wall?

Well, ummm, that likely is something the House will have to decide. Mr. Inman, no doubt, will be there on the House floor willing to offer his opinion.