US District Court Judge George Caram Steeh has ordered Michigan to pay $182,349 to the Entertainment Software Association for costs incurred during litigation over the state's now defunct anti-violent game law. In April, the law was ruled unconstitutional.According to the ESA, more than 1.5 million tax dollars are currently owed to the organization as a result of similar rulings in other states and cities, including: Illinois ($510,000), Washington ($344,000), Indianapolis ($318,000), and St. Louis ($180, 000). ESA president Douglas Lowenstein delivered some harsh words in the wake of the Michigan ruling, suggesting, "States that pass laws regulating video game sales might as well just tell voters they have a new way to throw away their tax dollars on wasteful and pointless political exercises that do nothing to improve the quality of life in the state ... What's worse, the politicians proposing and voting for these laws know this will be the outcome."
