State v. Zackery Douglas Adams

Defendant Zackery Douglas Adams pled guilty to grand theft and unlawful possession of a firearm; other charges including a persistent violator allegation were dismissed in exchange for pleas.
District court imposed a unified 14-year sentence with an 8-year minimum for grand theft, plus a consecutive indeterminate 5-year term for unlawful possession of a firearm.
The court ordered restitution of $267 to the victim.
Adams appealed, arguing his sentences were excessive and the court failed to adequately consider his ability to pay when ordering restitution.
The appellate court reviewed sentencing discretion and restitution standards and the record for abuse of discretion.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the sentences were excessive	Adams: sentence length is excessive	State: sentence is within trial court discretion and justified	Affirmed — no abuse of discretion in overall sentence length
Whether court failed to consider inability to pay before ordering restitution	Adams: court did not adequately consider his ability to pay $267 restitution	State: restitution decision is discretionary; inability to pay alone is not a bar under I.C. § 19-5304(7)	Affirmed — restitution order upheld; no error shown

State v. Hernandez, 121 Idaho 114, 822 P.2d 1011 (1991) (standards for appellate review of sentencing)
State v. Lopez, 106 Idaho 447, 680 P.2d 869 (1984) (factors for evaluating sentence reasonableness)
State v. Toohill, 103 Idaho 565, 650 P.2d 707 (1982) (sentencing discretion principles)
State v. Oliver, 144 Idaho 722, 170 P.3d 387 (2007) (consider defendant’s entire sentence when reviewing length)
State v. Richmond, 137 Idaho 35, 43 P.3d 794 (2002) (restitution is discretionary and guided by I.C. § 19-5304 factors)
State v. Bybee, 115 Idaho 541, 768 P.2d 804 (1989) (policy favoring full compensation to victims)
State v. Hedger, 115 Idaho 598, 768 P.2d 1331 (1989) (appellate multi-tiered inquiry for discretionary decisions)