LANSING, MI -- The Ingham County Circuit Court declined a citizen's request that it impanel a one-judge Grand Jury to investigate Gov. Rick Snyder's spending of public dollars on private criminal defense attorneys related to the Flint water crisis.

Flint resident Keri Webber asked for the investigation, saying her family had suffered illness related to lead and bacteria in the water. The Flint water crisis emerged when the city switched water sources. More corrosive water leached lead from city pipes and into the water supply.

Webber filed a complaint over Snyder's spending of public dollars on his legal fees through former Michigan Democratic Party Chair and current Goodman Acker attorney Mark Brewer.

Ingham County Circuit Court Chief Judge Janelle Lawless issued a denial late last week.

"While I respect the Court's decision, I will continue to fight for my family and the people of Michigan by holding Gov. Snyder accountable," Webber said in a statement reacting to the decision.

"My family's health has been devastated by the lead that was in our water system. Our family, like so many in Flint, has struggled in immeasurable ways since this crisis began, I want to say how incredibly shameful it is that taxpayer money is going to pay for the criminal defense of the very person who was at the center of the poisoning of our drinking water to begin with: Gov. Rick Snyder."

The lawsuit had alleged that Snyder did not have legal authority to authorize the spending on his legal contract.

Snyder spokeswoman Anna Heaton said earlier this month that spending on the governor's criminal defense contract was appropriate, since the lawsuits were brought against the governor in his official capacity, and was capped at $2 million.

"We aren't surprised the court denied the complaint, given that it was a baseless accusation," Heaton said Tuesday.

Brewer noted after the court's decision that "this is not a decision on the merits of the complaint, but simply an exercise of the Court's discretion not to investigate."