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Dana Nessel can subpoena in sexual assault kits investigation

September 17, 2019
<p>Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel smiles during the State of the State address on Feb. 12, 2019 at the Capitol in Lansing.</p>

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel smiles during the State of the State address on Feb. 12, 2019 at the Capitol in Lansing.

Photo by Sylvia Jarrus | The State News

Ingham County Circuit Judge James S. Jamo granted Attorney General Dana Nessel permission to submit subpoenas in the investigation of the Me Too Kits Company, the attorney general's office released Sept. 16.

Nessel issued a formal warning and a Notice of Intended Action, alleging the company violated multiple sections of Michigan's Consumer Protection Act.

The Me Too Kits were marketed as "do it yourself" sexual assault evidence gathering kits, which Nessel argues troubles law enforcement because any results from them are likely to be inadmissible in court.

Sexual assault evidence kits are free to anyone within 120 hours after an assault.

The Me Too Kits Company spoke with assistant attorneys general in the Corporate Oversight Division, but no agreement was reached pertaining to defining the company's unlawful practices.

The Notice of Intended Action accused Me Too Kits Company of the following practices:

  • Dishonest representation of services.
  • Causing a probability of confusion or misunderstanding of legal rights to a transaction.
  • Omitting a material fact which misleads consumers.
  • Failing to reveal facts that are material to the transaction in light of positive representations of fact.

When the Attorney General's office realized that an agreement was unlikely, the office filed a petition to issue subpoenas.

The subpoenas include a demand for documents explaining representations previously on the company’s website as well as compelling investigative testimony from corporate representatives.

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