Matty Moroun's Case Heard by Michigan Court of Appeals

DETROIT (WJBK) -- A three judge panel of the Michigan Court of Appeals heard the appeal of billionaire Matty Moroun and his top aide Dan Stamper Thursday.

They were briefly jailed last month after being held in contempt of court. That was for failing to carry out work on the Gateway Project. That's roads and ramps connecting the Ambassador Bridge to I-75 and I-96.

Two justices wondered about the indeterminate jail sentences.

Lawyers for the Bridge Company argued fulfilling the judge's order to avoid jail was unclear.

"If the contempt order does not articulate a clear, specific, unequivocal act that the sentenced person can perform in order to gain freedom, then that sentenced person does not have, in the words of the United States Supreme Court, 'the keys to the jail cell in that person's pocket,'" said attorney David Domina.

The Bridge Company has blamed the Michigan Department of Transportation for delays in the project. MDOT blames the Bridge Company's delays in providing documentation.

A lawyer for the state argued the trial judge did not exceed his authority and that in jailing Maroun, he was going after the one man who could comply with the judge's order to complete the Gateway Project around the Ambassador Bridge.

Many residents of Southwest Detroit are upset about the delays in the project and tired of traffic in the neighborhood. They blame the Bridge Company.

"This obligation was supposed to be fulfilled in 2008. We're waiting and the community has been suffering," said Scott Brines with the Southwest Detroit Community Benefit Coalition.

"With 10,000 trucks, that causes a lot of pollution," said Southwest Detroit resident Thomas Dombrowski. "We want to turn around and get some of these trucks off the road ... as a safety factor for our children."

The justices did not say when they would issue a decision.