Appeals Court Strikes Down $1,100 Jury Fee

ATLANTA, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan appeals court has thrown out an unusual punishment for a northern Michigan man who was ordered to pay $1,100 for having a three-hour jury trial.

The appeals court this week says the jury fee was "plain error" committed by Montmorency County Judge Michael Mack during the 2010 trial of Shawn Wass. The three-judge panel says the defendant can't be ordered to pay for the cost of a jury.

Wass was convicted of unlawfully driving away a vehicle and failing to stop at a property accident. He was accused of driving off in someone else's car after driving his girlfriend's vehicle into Crooked Lake, about 75 miles south of the Mackinac Bridge.

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