State v. AlgeoState v. Algeo
- Reporters:
- , ,
- Before:
- Walters
The material facts are procedural and undisputed. Petitioner and her friend were crossing a street late at night when defendant, who had been drinking, hit them with his car and seriously injured them.2 Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of driving under the influence of intoxicants and two counts of assault in the fourth degree for “intentionally, knowingly or recklessly caus[ing] physical injury.”
After considering the parties’ arguments, the court issued a letter opinion dated July 17, 2012, awarding restitution in an amount equal to 10 percent of petitioner‘s economic damages. The court reasoned that the economic damages recoverable through criminal restitution are those that are recoverable in a civil action and that, in a civil action, petitioner could not have obtained judgment for damages resulting from her own negligence. The court found that petitioner had been “jaywalking” when defendant struck and injured her and concluded that that unlawful activity, rather than defendant‘s criminal conduct, was the “cause” of petitioner‘s injuries. However, because defendant had admitted at sentencing that he recklessly had caused physical injury
On August 13, 2012, represented by private counsel, petitioner filed a claim in the underlying criminal proceeding alleging that the court had entered the supplemental judgment in error and in violation of
After considering additional briefing and conducting another hearing, the trial court entered an order denying petitioner‘s claim “for the reasons on the record includ[ing the court‘s] letter opinion of July 17, 2012.”4 Petitioner sought review of the trial court‘s order pursuant to
Before considering petitioner‘s arguments, we think it helpful to lay out the pertinent constitutional and statutory framework that governs petitioner‘s claim.
The legislature enacted
In this case, petitioner and the triаl court followed the statutory procedures that we have outlined. Petitioner filed a claim alleging a violation of her right to “receive prompt
In accordance with our usual approach, we take up petitioner‘s statutory argument before we consider her constitutional argument. Burt v. Blumenauer, 299 Or 55, 70, 699 P2d 168 (1985). In doing so, we proceed differently than this court did in State v. Barrett, 350 Or 390, 255 P3d 472 (2011). In Barrett, the victim claimed a violation of her constitutional right to advance notice of, and the right to be present at, the critical stages of a criminal prosecution.7
On review, this court began its analysis with the victim‘s claim that her constitutional rights had been violated. The court explained that, in enacting
This case is different. Here,
In that regard, it is important to remember that the question of the trial court‘s obligation to enter restitution in the “full amount” of petitioner‘s economic damages first arose when the state proposed a supplemental judgment seeking restitution in that amount. The parties—at that time, the state and defendant—fully briefed the issue, and the state took the position that petitioner takes in this appeal—that
Petitioner nevertheless contends that this court is authorized to cоnsider whether the trial court committed statutory, as opposed to constitutional, error in entering that judgment. Petitioner argues that no statute expressly prohibits this court from that exercise of jurisdiction. In fact, petitioner notes,
In our view, the statute to which petitioner refers—
That does not mean, however, that
Because
The text of
The state makes а somewhat different argument. It contends that
We begin with petitioner‘s suggestion that, in using the term “restitution,” the voters intended to give that term its ordinary meaning and to require that a victim be fully
In 1976, before
In 1999, when the voters enacted
We turn now to the argument, advanced by both petitioner and the state, that
Before we consider those arguments, it is important to clarify the difference between a procedural and a substantive right to receive restitution. A right to receive, promptly, whatever restitution a trial court orders is procedural in
We disagree with the state‘s characterization of its argument. The state‘s interpretation of
The logical result of the parties’ arguments is that, as used in
Wе need not address that potential issue in this case, however, as we do not glean from either the text or context of
Nor does the fact that the voters who adopted
For the reasons stated, we reject the parties’ arguments that the term “restitution” as used in
We can dispense with that argument summarily. In 2008, the voters amended
In reaching that conclusion, we do not decide whether the constitutional right to “receive prompt restitution” is purely procedural or instead carries a substantive element and requires restitution in some amount or as measured by some standard. That is a question for another day, because, in this case, petitioner does not contend that
The order of the circuit court is affirmed.
Notes
“To preserve and protect the right of crimе victims to justice, to ensure crime victims a meaningful role in the criminal and juvenile justice systems, to accord crime victims due dignity and respect and to ensure that criminal and juvenile court delinquency proceedings are conducted to seek the truth as to the defendant‘s innocence or guilt, and also to ensure that a fair balance is struck between the rights of crime victims and the rights of criminal defendants in the course and conduct of criminal and juvenile court delinquency proceedings, the following rights are hereby granted to victims in all prosecutions for crimes and in juvenile court delinquency proceedings:
“* * * * *
“Thе right to receive prompt restitution from the convicted criminal who caused the victim‘s loss or injury[.]”
“(1) When a person is convicted of a crime * * * that has resulted in economic damages, the district attorney shall investigate and present to the court, prior tо the time of sentencing, evidence of the nature and amount of the damages. If the court finds from the evidence presented that a victim suffered
“(a) A requirement that the defendant pay the victim restitution in a specific amount that equals the full amount of the victim‘s economic damages as determined by the court.
“(b) A requirement that the defendant pay the victim restitution, and that the specific amount of restitution will be established by a supplemental judgment based upon a determination made by the court within 90 days of entry of the judgment. In the supplemental judgment, the court shall establish a specific amount of restitution that equals the full amount of the victim‘s economic damages as determined by the court.”
“the following rights are hereby granted to victims in all prosecutions for crimes and in juvenile court delinquency proceedings:
“(a) The right to be present at and, upon specific request, to be informed in advance of any critical stage of the proceedings held in open court when the defendant will be present, and to be heard at the pretrial release hearing and the sentenсing or juvenile court delinquency disposition[.]”
“(1)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law and except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, appellate review of an order issued under
“(b) A defendant who seeks to appeal an order issued under
“* * * * *
“(2) Jurisdiction for appellate review of an order issued under
“(3) Subject to
“(4) Appellate review of an order issued under
“(a)
“(b)