Opinion ID: 2520667
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Was the Restitution Order a Legal Sentence

Text: [¶ 9] Appellate review of restitution is confined to a search for procedural error or a clear abuse of discretion. Brown v. State, 2003 WY 72, ¶ 9, 70 P.3d 238 ¶ 9 (Wyo.2003); and see Penner v. State, 2003 WY 143, ¶ 7, 78 P.3d 1045, ¶ 7 (Wyo.2003). Moreover, The distinction between whether a defendant is making a factual challenge to an order of restitution or whether he is challenging the authority of the trial court to make a particular award of restitution is an important one. Challenges to the factual basis of an award of restitution can be waived in certain circumstances by the defendant's voluntary actions, such as entering into a plea agreement, and then failing to make any objection at sentencing, as occurred in Meerscheidt. See also Aldridge v. State, 956 P.2d 341, 343 (Wyo. 1998). Outside the context of a plea agreement, the failure to object to a factual determination in the awarding of restitution results in an appellate review for plain error. See Gayler v. State, 957 P.2d 855, 857 (Wyo.1998). In contrast, a challenge by a defendant to the authority of a trial court to make a particular award of restitution is reviewed on appeal under a de novo statutory interpretation standard whether or not the defendant objected or entered into a plea agreement. Meerscheidt, 931 P.2d at 223-224, 226-227. While not explicit in our decision in Meerscheidt, the reason for conducting a de novo review under such circumstances is that a court has only that authority to act which is conferred by the subject statute. Aldridge, 956 P.2d at 343. (The trial court's exercise of discretion in ordering restitution does not spring from any inherent authority. Rather that exercise, like our review, is circumscribed by the statutes empowering the trial court to order restitution.) (citation omitted); see also Horn v. State, 556 P.2d 925, 927 (Wyo. 1976) ([A] penal statute cannot be extended by implication or construction to persons or things not expressly brought within its terms, nor to cases not within the letter of the statute....). An order of restitution by a trial court which exceeds the authority granted by the statutes governing restitution would be void, and a void order may be challenged at any time. People v. Evans, 122 Ill.App.3d 733, 78 Ill.Dec. 50, 461 N.E.2d 634, 639 (1984); see also State ex rel. TRL by Avery v. RLP, 772 P.2d 1054, 1057 (Wyo.1989). Merkison v. State, 996 P.2d 1138 at 1141-42 (Wyo.2000) (emphasis in original). [¶ 10] We perceive Bush's argument to be both a challenge to the factual basis for the order of restitution, as well as one which challenges the authority of the district court to impose restitution such as that ordered. [¶ 11] Restitution is described by Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-9-103 (LexisNexis 2003): § 7-9-103. Determination of amount owed; execution. (a) As part of the sentencing process including deferred prosecutions under W.S. 7-13-301, in any misdemeanor or felony case, the prosecuting attorney shall present to the court any claim for restitution submitted by any victim. (b) In every case in which a claim for restitution is submitted, the court shall fix a reasonable amount as restitution owed to each victim for actual pecuniary damage resulting from the defendant's criminal activity, and shall include its determination of the pecuniary damage as a special finding in the judgment of conviction or in the order placing the defendant on probation under W.S. 7-13-301. In determining the amount of restitution, the court shall consider and include as a special finding, each victim's reasonably foreseeable actual pecuniary damage that will result in the future as a result of the defendant's criminal activity. A long-term physical health care restitution order shall be entered as provided in W.S. 7-9-113 through 7-9-115. (c) The court shall order the defendant to pay all or part of the restitution claimed or shall state on the record specific reasons why an order for restitution was not entered. If the court determines that the defendant has no ability to pay and that no reasonable probability exists that the defendant will have an ability to pay in the future, the court shall enter specific findings in the record supporting its determination. (d) Any order for restitution under this chapter constitutes a judgment by operation of law on the date it is entered. To satisfy the judgment, the clerk, upon request of the victim or the district attorney, may issue execution in the same manner as in a civil action. (e) The court's determination of the amount of restitution owed under this section is not admissible as evidence in any civil action. (f) The defendant shall be given credit against his restitution obligation for payments made to the victim by the defendant's insurer for injuries arising out of the same facts or event. A part of the analytic process for construing a statute is this: Applicable general principles of statutory construction include: if the language is clear and unambiguous, we must abide by the plain meaning of the statute; if a statute is ambiguous, we may resort to general principles of construction; an ambiguous statute is one whose meaning is uncertain and susceptible of more than one meaning; and in a criminal statute, an ambiguity should be resolved in favor of lenity. Mazurek v. State, 10 P.3d 531, 540-41 (Wyo.2000) (quoting Pierson v. State, 956 P.2d 1119, 1125 (Wyo.1998)). We analyze statutes with the objective of ascertaining the legislature's intent, commencing with an inquiry into the ordinary and obvious meaning of the words employed according to their arrangement and connection. Misenheimer v. State, 2001 WY 65, ¶ 7, 27 P.3d 273, ¶ 7 (Wyo.2001). We construe the statute as a whole, giving effect to every word, clause, and sentence, and we construe together all parts of the statute in pari materia so that no part will be inoperative or superfluous. Id. (quoting Capshaw v. State, 10 P.3d 560, 564 (Wyo.2000)) ( citing Fall v. State, 963 P.2d 981, 983 (Wyo.1998)). We will not construe a statute in a way that leaves any portion meaningless or produces an absurd result. Mazurek, 10 P.3d at 541; Pierson, 956 P.2d at 1125. State v. Nelson, 2002 WY 99, ¶ 6, 49 P.3d 185, ¶ 6 (Wyo.2002). [¶ 12] By its own words, the governing statute articulates that restitution shall be fixed at a reasonable amount. The district court is required to determine the pecuniary damage suffered by the victim. Pecuniary damage means: [A]ll damages which a victim could recover against the defendant in a civil action arising out of the same facts or event, including damages for wrongful death. It does not include punitive damages and damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish and loss of consortium[.] Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-9-101(a)(iii) (LexisNexis 2003). [¶ 13] With respect to restitution, the ABA Standards for Criminal Justice: Sentencing (3rd ed.1994), provides this guidance: