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COLUMBIA, MO. -- A Columbia man convicted of murder is hoping a ruling by the Missouri Court of Appeals grants him a new trial.

Ryan Ferguson is serving 40 years in prison for the 2001 murder of Columbia Daily Tribune Sports Editor Kent Heitholt.

This week’s Appeals Court ruling said it is unconstitutional for people to pay to get out of jury duty. A Lincoln County Judge allowed jurors to trade their jury duty for $50 in nearly 24 cases .

Thirteen Lincoln County jurors cut the same deal during Ryan Ferguson’s 2002 murder trial.

The Ferguson family said this week’s ruling should automatically give Ryan a new trial.

“We’re going to have a habeas corpus hearing in Cole County in regards to Charles Erickson’s sworn statement," Ryan’s father Bill Ferguson said. "I’m sure that we will just piggyback this issue onto that same habeas hearing.”

Missouri’s Lincoln County is the only county in the United States that allowed jurors to buy their way out of service.

Attorneys for Ryan Ferguson are expected to appear in Cole County Court next month to plead their case for a new trial.