A woman asked a judge Thursday to toss her $173.50 fine for throwing lettuce out of her car, but he ordered her to fork over the green.
Dawn Higgins, who was cited Oct. 18 while parked outside a Wal-Mart near Easton, showed up in Northampton County Common Pleas Court with a McDonald's chicken ranch salad that her attorney marked as exhibit "S One," for salad one.
Higgins has said she took her daughters and a friend to the store, and they stopped at a McDonald's along the way. She said she pulled into a parking space to finish her meal but decided not to eat the half-dozen or so leaves atop her salad.
After failing to appear before a district judge on Dec. 22, Higgins discovered that she had been convicted in absentia and owed the state $173.50. She appealed, arguing that lettuce is biodegradable.
After listening to Higgins' attorney pepper a police officer with questions about lettuce, President Judge Robert A. Freedberg on Thursday found Higgins guilty.
Higgins is mulling an appeal to state Superior Court "as a matter of principle," said the lawyer, Timothy Prendergast.
"Probably the most expensive McDonald's salad ever sold," he said.