The law lets a wrongly convicted person sue the state for money for their time in prison.
But it also requires repayment of that money if another party also pays damages for the same wrongful conviction or imprisonment.
In the case, a man and his daughters won a federal settlement against the City of Detroit after he was already awarded money from the state.
His lawyers argued he shouldn’t have to pay the state back because the law was unconstitutionally vague.
They claimed the law didn’t fully explain what counted as awarded damages, which parties it applied to, and to what extent reimbursement is required.
The appellate court disagreed with each argument.
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