LANSING – Governor Rick Snyder has appointed to the 36th District Court the son of the judge hearing the ongoing legal battle between the Department of Transportation and the Ambassador Bridge over the Gateway Project.

Snyder’s appointment of Prentis Edwards Jr. to the bench comes three weeks after Matthew Moroun, a member of the family that owns the Ambassador, accused Edwards’ father, Wayne Circuit Judge Prentis Edwards Sr., of asking Snyder to appoint his son to a judgeship even as the elder Edwards was presiding over the case between the state and the Ambassador.

In the case, Edwards has consistently ruled for the state and ordered the owners of the Ambassador Bridge to rebuild approach ramps according to the agreement they had reached years ago with the state. Most recently, he ordered the owner of the bridge, Manuel “Matty” Moroun, Matthew Moroun’s father, to appear in court January 12 to face possible sanctions.

The younger Moroun issued a statement after Edwards’ most recent ruling in the case charging that Edwards’ alleged push for his son’s appointment “may have influenced the court’s decision.”

Alan Upchurch, who handles public relations for the Ambassador owners, said Matthew Moroun was not available to comment and no one else at the company wished to comment on the appointment. The elder Edwards could not be reached for comment.

Snyder press secretary Sara Wurfel said the elder Edwards had not contacted the administration to her knowledge. However, she said Snyder appointed the younger Edwards based solely on his qualifications.

“Sadly, it’s more of the same,” from the bridge company, she said. “The bridge, the whole concept, never even came up once in the entire vetting or interview process. The governor’s always going to be focusing on doing the right thing and making sure the best-qualified candidates are appointed. … He was absolutely highly qualified and the best candidate to fill that spot.”

The younger Edwards is an assistant prosecuting attorney for Wayne County in the Community Prosecution Unit. He succeeds Nancy Farmer, who resigned.

Snyder announced the appointment as part of three appointments he made to the 36th District Court, the district court for Detroit. The other appointments by the governor were Michael Wagner, succeeding George Chatman, who died, and Shannon Holmes, succeeding Noceeba Southern, who resigned.

“I am very impressed by the legal skills, extensive experience and community involvement demonstrated by Michael Wagner, Shannon Holmes and Prentis Edwards Jr.,” Snyder said in a statement. “All three are highly successful attorneys and I am confident all three will make excellent judges.”

Edwards will have to run for a full term in 2012. Wagner will run in 2012 to complete the last two years of Chatman’s term and Holmes will run in 2012 to finish the final two years of Southern’s term. The appointments are not subject to Senate action.

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