DETROIT -- The woman who pleaded guilty to bribery charges doesn't have enough money to pay for her legal defense.

According to a federal judge, former Detroit councilwoman Monica Conyers has been declared indigent, which means a court-appointed lawyer will handle an appeal of her prison sentence.

That also means the public wil pack up the tab, even though Conyers' husband John is a Michigan congressman who's paid $174,000 a year.

Monica Conyers signed an affidavit declaring she can't afford a lawyer. Steve Fishman, the attorney who negotiated her guilty plea, said she has no money.

According to court records, the appeal of Conyers' 37-month prison sentence has been assigned to Douglas Mullkoff of Ann Arbor.

Conyers was sentenced last week for a bribery conspiracy.

The grounds for an appeal are unclear. Her plea deal says there can be no appeal if the sentence was less than five years.

U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn refused Conyers' requests to withdraw her guilty plea when he sentenced her last Wednesday to 37 months in prison. Conyers is to report to prison July 1.

Download: Sentencing Guidelines
Download: Charging Document 6/26/09

Conyers has suggested she was the victim of "badgering" in 2009 when she admitted taking cash to support a Houston company's sludge-hauling contract with the city.