Opinion ID: 683222
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Appellate Court's Jurisdiction to Hear Restitution Issues

Text: 35 not Raised Below. 36 As a preliminary matter, we reject the Government's contention that DeSalvo's failure to raise objections to the restitution order below waives her right to appeal it before this Court. Some decisions of this Circuit have, in the context of restitution orders, stated the general rule that an issue not raised before the trial court will not be addressed on appeal. See United States v. Cloud, 872 F.2d 846, 857 (9th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1002, 110 S.Ct. 561, 107 L.Ed.2d 556 (1991). However, our more recent decisions have expressly rejected the Government's argument. United States v. Baker, 25 F.3d 1452, 1456 (9th Cir.1994). In Baker, we found that an exception to the general rule applied when, as in the present case, the issue on appeal was purely one of law. Id. In Baker, as in the case presently before this Court, the issue on appeal not raised below dealt with the extent of a trial court's authority to order restitution under the VWPA. Since the sentencing issue is before this Court purely as a question of law, DeSalvo's failure to raise an objection to the imposition or amount of restitution below will not act to prevent us from considering it. Id.; United States v. Kimball, 896 F.2d 1218, 1219 (9th Cir.1990) (recognizing appellate court jurisdiction over questions of law when objections were not presented below), vacated in part on other grounds, 925 F.2d 356 (9th Cir.1991) (en banc) (per curium). Therefore the Government's jurisdictional argument is overruled and we shall examine the merits of DeSalvo's restitution appeal.