The state's high court sent the case back to a trial court Friday with instructions to wipe out the attorney fees charged to Donell Ivey, by agreement of the parties.
The justices had been preparing to hear Ivey's appeal of the attorney fees, though no date had been set for oral arguments.
Before Ivey's conviction by jury for assault, he was homeless and supported himself on Social Security disability benefits, according to his petition to the state Supreme Court. Due to his poverty, Ivey was appointed a lawyer to represent him in the assault case.
At his sentencing hearing, Ivey was sentenced to 7 years in prison for the assault and ordered to reimburse the court for the legal assistance he received from his court-appointed counsel.
Ivey argued that the state statute that permits judges to impose the costs of legal assistance on criminal defendants should be read in the context of the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission Act. Under MIDCA, partially indigent defendants pay a portion of the cost of their lawyers' services, while fully indigent defendants are not required to pay for their court-appointed counsel.
Ivey additionally argued his bill was an unconstitutional "fine" that must be distributed to the public libraries, under Michigan's constitution, and cannot be used to reimburse public defenders.
The State Appellate Defender Office, which represented Ivey at the high court, said in November that all people have the right to counsel regardless of financial status and Ivey's case presented "a significant opportunity for the court to clarify how that right is protected and applied in practice."
The Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, which prosecuted the assault case, had agreed that Ivey should not have to pay his lawyer.
Macomb County's public defenders generally no longer make fee requests, the prosecutors said in a court filing, and if legal fees are ordered they can usually be vacated or waived in post-conviction motions.
Ivey "appears to have fallen through the cracks," Macomb County told the state Supreme Court.
Neither party immediately responded to requests for comment.
The state is represented by Emil Semaan of the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office.
Ivey is represented by Kierston Des'Neiges Nunn of the State Appellate Defender Office.
The case is People of Michigan v. Donell Willie-Terrell Ivey, case number 168000, in the Michigan Supreme Court.
--Editing by Kelly Duncan.
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