In Interest of RWS

471 N.W.2d 16, 162 Wis. 2d 862
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJune 20, 1991
Docket89-1826
StatusPublished

This text of 471 N.W.2d 16 (In Interest of RWS) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Interest of RWS, 471 N.W.2d 16, 162 Wis. 2d 862 (Wis. 1991).

Opinion

162 Wis.2d 862 (1991)
471 N.W.2d 16

IN the INTEREST OF R.W.S., a child under the age of eighteen years: R.W.S., Appellant-Petitioner,
v.
STATE of Wisconsin, Respondent.

No. 89-1826.

Supreme Court of Wisconsin.

Argued April 23, 1991.
Decided June 20, 1991.

*866 For the appellant-petitioner there was a brief and oral argument by Virginia A. Pomeroy, assistant state public defender.

For the respondent the cause was argued by Gregory M. Posner-Weber, assistant attorney general, with whom on the brief was Donald J. Hanaway, attorney general.

CALLOW, WILLIAM G., J.

This is a review of a decision of the court of appeals, In Interest of R.W.S., 156 Wis. 2d 526, 457 N.W.2d 498 (Ct. App. 1990). The court of appeals affirmed a dispositional order of the Waukesha county circuit court, Judge Kathryn W. Foster, requiring in part that R.W.S. pay $900 restitution as a result of a charge that was "read-in"[1] and dismissed.

*867 Two issues are before this court: (1) Can a circuit court order restitution in a juvenile proceeding for delinquency petitions which have been dismissed and reading?, and (2) If so, can a circuit court in a juvenile proceeding order such restitution to be made directly to an insurance company?

We first conclude that the circuit court has the authority to order a juvenile to play restitution as a result of an offense which forms the basis of a delinquency petition, when the juvenile has admitted that offense and the delinquency petition is dismissed under the read-in procedure. Such an order is consistent with the purposes of the children's Code (ch. 48, Stats.) generally, and with the specific language of sec. 48.34, Stats.[2]*868 We next conclude that the circuit court has the authority to order the juvenile to pay restitution directly to an insurance company which has reimbursed the victim for the loss. We find no reason to limit restitution payments by requiring direct payment to the victim of the crime in cases such as this.

The relevant facts follow. The State filed two "Petitions for Determination of Status" (delinquency petitions) in the circuit court against R.W.S. in July 1988. Each petition related to an incident of alleged burglary, contrary to sec. 943.10(1)(a), Stats. The first petition ("G") alleged that R.W.S. had burglarized the home of his parents on July 1, 1988, taking several bottles of liquor and some stereo equipment. The second petition ("H") alleged that R.W.S. had burglarized his parents' home on June 29 or 30, 1988, taking, among other things, $900 in cash from a safe in the home.

At the dispositional hearing on January 6, 1989, R.W.S. admitted the allegations in petition G. He also admitted that he burglarized his parents' home as alleged in petition H, but denied taking $900 from the safe. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the court advised R.W.S. that in exchange for his admission to the allegations in petition G, petition H would be dismissed and "read-in" for purposes of disposition. The circuit court set the restitution amount for stolen and damaged property at $140, pending a hearing on the remaining $900.

*869 After a restitution hearing on February 17, 1989, the circuit court found that the State had proven that R.W.S. took the $900 by clear, satisfactory and convincing evidence. On February 21, 1989, the court amended the restitution order to $1,040, $940 of which was to be paid to the victims' insurer, West Bend Mutual Insurance Company. On September 11, 1989, the circuit court denied R.W.S.'s motion for reconsideration. The court of appeals affirmed the circuit court's dispositional order on May 2, 1990. We have accepted R.W.S.'s petition for review pursuant to sec. (Rule) 809.62, Stats., and affirm the decision of the lower court.

I.

[1]

R.W.S. first argues that the circuit court did not have authority under the Children's Code, ch. 48, Stats., or under the common law to order him to make restitution based on delinquency petitions which were dismissed and read-in.[3] The question of judicial authority is an issue of law and we decide this issue without deference to the lower courts. In Interest of E.C., 130 Wis. 2d 376, 381, 387 N.W.2d 72 (1986).

R.W.S. claims that the circuit court cannot order restitution based upon delinquent acts that have not been adjudicated, because ch. 48, Stats., does not *870 expressly provide for this as a dispositional alternative. R.W.S. argues that there is no statutory authority for "read-ins" in juvenile cases. R.W.S. cites E.C., 130 Wis. 376, 390, for the proposition that a circuit court may not order a particular dispositional alternative unless ch. 48 expressly provides for that disposition. R.W.S. contends that the language of sec. 48.34(5)(a), by contrast, clearly limits restitution to damage or injury caused by the act for which the child has been adjudged delinquent.

Subchapter VI of ch. 48, Stats., discusses the disposition of cases in which a child is adjudged to be delinquent. Section 48.335(1) and (5), Stats., provides: "(1) The court shall conduct a hearing to determine the disposition of a case in which a child is adjudged to be delinquent. . . . (5) At the conclusion of the hearing, the court shall make a dispositional order in accordance with s. 48.355." Section 48.34 further provides: "If the judge adjudges a child delinquent, he or she shall enter an order deciding one or more of the dispositions of the case as provided in this section . . .." R.W.S. contends that the language of sections 48.335 and 48.34 clearly prohibit an order of restitution unless the child has been adjudged delinquent of the act for which restitution is ordered.

[2]

The sections do not explicitly prohibit such an order, however. Both sections refer to dispositions after the child is adjudged to be delinquent,[4] without specifically requiring that the restitution be limited to adjudicated acts of delinquency. As the court of appeals concluded, secs. 48.335 and 48.34 are ambiguous because reasonable minds could differ over whether an adjudication of delinquency on each specific offense is a prerequisite for the disposition of that offense. R.W.S., 156 Wis. *871 2d at 529. See also Kollasch v. Adamany, 104 Wis. 2d 552, 561, 313 N.W.2d 47 (1981).

[3-6]

Because the language of these sections does not explicitly permit or prohibit an order of restitution for read-in delinquent acts, we resort to rules of statutory construction in order to discern the intent of the legislature. This court will examine the scope, subject matter and object of the statute to discern this intent. Pulsfus Poultry Farms v. Town of Leeds, 149 Wis. 2d 797, 806, 440 N.W.2d 329 (1989). Additionally, in construing ch. 48, Stats., the entire section and related sections are to be considered. Pulsfus Poultry Farms, 149 Wis. 2d at 804. When multiple statutes are contained in the same chapter and assist in implementing the chapter's goals and policy, the statutes should be read in pari materia and harmonized if possible. State v. Amato, 126 Wis. 2d 212, 216, 376 N.W.2d 75 (Ct. App. 1985). With these principles in mind, we examine the statutes in question.

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Bluebook (online)
471 N.W.2d 16, 162 Wis. 2d 862, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-interest-of-rws-wis-1991.