Macomb Bars Costs of Mistrial

A defendant in Macomb County was tried on a charge of assault with intent to commit murder; the jury trial resulted in a mistrial. The defendant was convicted following a second trial, and, as a part of the judgment of sentence, the trial court included an order for the repayment of attorney fees in a total amount of $5, 075, which represented $2,700 paid to trial counsel for the first trial and $2,375 paid for the second trial.

Appellate counsel thereafter moved in the Court of Appeals for a remand to challenge the assessment in the Judgment of Sentence. On remand, the Honorable Michael E. Servitto agreed that there was no statutory authority under M.C.L. 769.1k for the defendant to be assessed the cost of the attorney fees for the first trial where there was no conviction entered, and the $2,700 was stricken from the judgment.

 The defendant was represented by attorney Michael A. Faraone. A copy of the Opinion and Order in the case of People v.  Toney M. Williams, Macomb County Circuit Court No.  2016-001926-FC, is available at
http://www.sado.org/content/pub/10970_People-v_-Williams-Macomb-CC.pdf

by Neil Leithauser
Associate Editor