Opinion ID: 1745101
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: procedures under sdcl ch. 23a-28

Text: Wolff next asserts that the trial court did not follow procedures required by SDCL ch. 23A-28 in the following regards: 1) No plan of restitution was prepared in cooperation with the court services officer; 2) no determination was made that Wolff was presently unable to make restitution; 3) no determination was made as to whether he could make restitution during probation or parole; and 4) he was given no opportunity to contest whether any victim actually suffered any pecuniary loss or to oppose recommendations of the court services officer. The trial court instructed Wolff, the court services officer, the State's Attorney, and the Sheriff to work it all out. In the circumstances of this case, where Wolff, facing a $15,000 restitution order, stated that he had $40,000 in equipment, and it is obvious that any plan of restitution was yet to be formulated, Wolff's specific allegations of statutory violations are either premature (allegations 1 and 4) or wholly lacking in merit (allegations 2 and 3). The statutes do not require preparation of the plan of restitution prior to the sentencing hearing. The true procedural problem is that the Legislature changed SDCL ch. 23A-28 in 1987 and thereby reallocated the responsibility of preparing plans of restitution for defendants serving their sentence in the penitentiary. See 1987 S.D.Sess.L. ch. 179 (H.B. 1100). Prior to these amendments, SDCL 23A-28-3 provided, inter alia, that [i]f the sentencing court orders the defendant. . . to the state penitentiary . . . the court shall require as a condition that the defendant, in cooperation with the court services officer assigned to the defendant, promptly prepare a plan of restitution[.] The 1987 amendments, among other things, deleted the underlined language from SDCL 23A-28-3. 1987 S.D.Sess.L. ch. 179, § 1. In so doing, the Legislature did not, however, free those sent to the penitentiary from the reach of their obligation to make restitution, as reflected in other changes made to SDCL ch. 23A-28. Section 2 of ch. 179 added the following provision to SDCL 23A-28-5: For a defendant serving a sentence in the state penitentiary the board of pardons and paroles shall consider these factors when preparing the plan of restitution. Section 3 of ch. 179 changed SDCL 23A-28-6 by limiting court services officers' duty of providing victims with copies of restitution plans to cases involving any defendant not serving his sentence in the state penitentiary. Distribution of copies of restitution plans to victims of defendants in the penitentiary was shifted from court services officers to the executive director of the board of pardons and paroles. 1987 S.D.Sess.L. ch. 179, § 3. The trial court's handling of Wolff's restitution was, therefore, statutorily unauthorized, after the 1987 amendments, although it would have been proper under SDCL 23A-28-3 in its earlier form. SDCL ch. 23A-28, as currently formulated, places the responsibility for preparing and distributing plans of restitution within the board of pardons and paroles. This is consistent with the principle of separation of powers enunciated in State v. Oban, 372 N.W.2d 125, 129 (S.D.1985): [O]nce an offender is within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of government, the judicial branchthe circuit courtloses jurisdiction and control subject to certain exceptions irrelevant to this case. See also State v. Huftile, 367 N.W.2d 193, 196 (S.D.1985). Here, Wolff was sentenced at a hearing on January 4, 1988, and was received at the penitentiary on January 7, 1988. Once Wolff entered the penitentiary, any plan of restitution, under SDCL 23A-28-5, had to be created under the authority of the board of pardons and paroles, not the trial court and its court services officer. Prior to Wolff's delivery to the penitentiary, the circuit court had jurisdiction to formulate a plan of restitution. In so holding, we note SDCL 23A-27-32 which provides, in pertinent part: Whenever any person is convicted of a felony, the judge before whom such person is convicted shall furnish the board of pardons and parole with a plan of restitution pursuant to chapter 23A-28. This segment of SDCL 23A-27-32 was last amended in 1986 and, therefore, is impliedly repealed by the later legislative pronouncement to the extent that it conflicts with SDCL 23A-28-5. Although repeals by implication are not favored, if there is irreconcilability between statutes, the latter statute prevails. In re Appeal of Sales Tax Refund Applications of Black Hills Power & Light Co., 298 N.W.2d 799, 803 (S.D. 1980). See also South Dakota Bd. of Regents v. Meister, 309 N.W.2d 121 (S.D. 1981); Kneip v. Herseth, 87 S.D. 642, 214 N.W.2d 93 (1974). In conclusion, trial courts may prepare plans of restitution when defendants are under its jurisdiction. However, once the defendant enters the penitentiary, the Board of Pardons and Paroles may prepare its own plan of restitution. Obviously, these two branches of government should communicate and coordinate from the sentencing to the arrival of the defendant at the penitentiary, to avoid any loss to a victim. We must all consider the intent of the statutes, which is to compensate victims for their loss.