Lawsuit readied in Detroit mayor ouster

DETROIT, June 17 (UPI) -- A lawyer for the City of Detroit says he will file a lawsuit aimed at derailing the city council's attempt to oust Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

Attorney Robert Sedler indicated he would be challenging the process the council used in invoking its authority under the city charter to bounce Kilpatrick from office.

"This just can't be done this way," Sedler, a Wayne State University law professor, told The Detroit News. "This is a matter of process."

Sedler was retained by the city's Law Department after the council went to Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and formally asked her to remove Kilpatrick.

The News said the challenge had been expected since most legal observers say the rules covering the removal of a mayor by the governor are vague.

Kilpatrick is locked in a continuing struggle with the council over his role in a scandal involving whistle-blowers in the Detroit Police Department.