Thursday, January 7, 2010

Florida Supreme Court Interprets Chpt. 985, Fla. Stat. Re: Juvenile Restitution

In J.A.B. v. State of Florida (SC08-2326), the Florida Supreme Court approved J.A.B. v. State, 993 So. 2d 1150 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008) (en banc) and disapproved of J.A.M. v. State, 601 So. 2d 278 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992).  The approved language from the en banc Second District stated:
[W]e now hold that the trial court may set the restitution amount and payments in a reasonable amount based upon evidence regarding the earnings the juvenile may reasonably be expected to make and may set a commencement date for the payments so long as the court provides a reasonable amount of time for the juvenile to obtain employment.
The Florida Supreme Court's opinion stated:
Chapter 985, Florida Statutes (2005), entitled “Delinquency; Interstate Compact on Juveniles,” was enacted in 1997 by the Florida Legislature. See ch. 97-238, Laws of Fla. The statute provides in part as follows: “When restitution is ordered by the court, the amount of restitution may not exceed an amount the child and the parent or guardian could reasonably be expected to pay or make.”  § 985.231(1)(a)(1)(a) (2005) (emphasis added). Nearly identical language was contained in the juvenile restitution statute in existence at the time of J.A.M.’s offense. Likewise, section 985.437(2), Florida Statutes (2009), provides in pertinent part: “When restitution is ordered by the court, the amount of restitution may not exceed an amount the child and the parent or guardian could reasonably be expected to pay or make.” (emphasis added).
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To fulfill the goal of providing restitution to the victim “whenever possible,” the Legislature has set forth a clear procedure for trial courts to follow in ordering restitution from a minor.....Once a juvenile is adjudicated delinquent and if the trial court places the juvenile on probation, a probation program “must include a penalty component such as restitution in money or in kind.”  § 985.231(1)(a)(1), Fla. Stat. (2005); see also § 985.435(2)(a), Fla. Stat. (2009). The court may order the child to “make restitution in money, through a promissory note cosigned by a child’s parent or guardian, or in kind for any damage or loss caused by the child’s offense in a reasonable amount or manner to be determined by the court.” § 985.231(1)(a)(6), Fla. Stat. (2005); see also § 985.437(2), Fla. Stat. (2009) (same).
The issue in this case is whether the statute prohibits setting a date certain for restitution payments to begin and, if not, whether the setting of a date certain is inconsistent with the statute’s requirement that the amount of restitution ordered is an amount that “the child and the parent or guardian could reasonably be expected to pay or make.” § 985.231(1)(a)(1)(a), Fla. Stat. (2005) (emphasis added); see also § 985.437(2), Fla. Stat. (2009). We conclude that the statute does not prohibit setting a date certain for restitution payments to begin. Rather, the operative language of the statute—“reasonably expected to pay or make”—appears to contemplate that restitution will be set based on what a juvenile could be reasonably expected to pay upon finding employment, not on the juvenile’s current ability to pay. Thus, provided the ordered restitution amount does not exceed an amount that the child and the parent could reasonably be expected to pay or make, the trial court may order that the payments begin on a date certain—without regard to the juvenile’s present employment status.

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