In Re the Welfare of H.A.D.

764 N.W.2d 64, 2009 Minn. LEXIS 78, 2009 WL 1011100
CourtSupreme Court of Minnesota
DecidedApril 16, 2009
DocketA07-1341
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 764 N.W.2d 64 (In Re the Welfare of H.A.D.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re the Welfare of H.A.D., 764 N.W.2d 64, 2009 Minn. LEXIS 78, 2009 WL 1011100 (Mich. 2009).

Opinion

OPINION

GILDEA, Justice.

The issue raised in this appeal is whether the juvenile court lacked the authority to order restitution pursuant to Minn.Stat. § 611A.04 (2008). Appellant H.A.D. pleaded guilty in juvenile court to fifth-degree assault. The court adjudicated H.A.D. delinquent and placed her on probation for 1 year. After the period of probation expired, the juvenile court ordered H.A.D. to pay restitution to the assault victim. The court of appeals held that the restitution order was valid with respect to the restitution requests filed during the probationary period. In re Welfare of H.A.D., No. A07-1341, 2008 WL 2246267, at *3 (Minn.App. June 3, 2008). Because we hold that the juvenile court did not have the statutory authority to order restitution once *65 H.A.D.’s probationary period expired, we reverse.

This case arises from H.A.D.’s assault of L.M. The State charged H.A.D. in connection with this offense, and she pleaded guilty to fifth-degree assault, Minn.Stat. § 609.224, subd. 1 (2008), on January 23, 2006, in Steele County. Because H.A.D. lived in Rice County, her case was transferred to Rice County for a dispositional hearing.

At the March 20, 2006, dispositional hearing, the juvenile court adjudicated H.A.D. delinquent and placed her on probation for 1 year. 1 With respect to restitution, the court stated: “As long as [H.A.D. is] on probation a claim for restitution can be filed.” On March 23, 2006, the court issued a written order adjudicating H.A.D. delinquent. The written order made no mention of restitution.

In June 2006, during H.A.D.’s probationary period, ACS Recovery Services and Blue Cross Blue Shield each filed affidavits in Steele County seeking restitution from H.A.D. Court administrators in Steele County forwarded the affidavits to Rice County in March 2007. In addition, L.M.’s mother filed a request for restitution in Rice County on March 14, 2007.

On March 15, 2007, H.A.D.’s probation officer wrote to the Rice County Juvenile Court, asking the court to extend H.A.D.’s probation for 6 months. The probation officer’s letter stated that H.A.D. was “in substantial compliance with the conditions of probation.” Nevertheless, H.A.D.’s probation officer requested the 6-month extension to address the restitution requests. On March 20, 2007, the juvenile court issued an order extending H.A.D.’s probation for 6 months.

Between March 21, 2007, and June 4, 2007, various parties seeking restitution filed several additional restitution affidavits with the juvenile court in Rice County. The juvenile court held a restitution hearing on June 5, 2007, on all of the requests for restitution. At the hearing, H.A.D. objected to any restitution, arguing that the court lacked authority to order restitution because her probation had ended on March 19, 2007. By order dated June 11, 2007, the juvenile court ordered H.A.D. to pay $5,806.25 in restitution.

H.A.D. appealed, and the Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed in part and reversed in part. In re Welfare of H.A.D., 2008 WL 2246267, at *3. The court agreed with H.A.D. that her probation ended on March 19, 2007. Id. at *2. The court of appeals further held that the juvenile court lacked jurisdiction on March 20, 2007 to extend H.A.D.’s probation by 6 months. Id. The court therefore reversed the portion of the restitution order reflecting requests filed after March 19, 2007.

But the court of appeals affirmed the juvenile court’s restitution order with respect to the three restitution requests filed during the probationary period. The court reasoned that:

At the original disposition hearing, the court stated that as long as H.A.D. was on probation, claims for restitution could be submitted. While the district court did not include specific restitution in its written order, it did provide for it on the record once medical expenses were determined. We reject H.A.D.’s contention that restitution was a nonessential component of the disposition.

*66 Id. We granted H.A.D.’s petition for review. •

I.

In juvenile matters, restitution is governed by both the restitution provision of the delinquency statutes, Minn.Stat. § 260B.198, subd. 1(5) (2008), and the general restitution statute, Minn.Stat. § 611A.04, subd. 1. Application of these statutes to essentially undisputed facts is a question of law that we review de novo. Varda v. Northwest Airlines Corp., 692 N.W.2d 440, 444 (Minn.2005).

A court may order restitution at the dispositional hearing, provided that “all information regarding restitution [is] received by the court ... at least three business days before the ... dispositional hearing.” Minn.Stat. § 611A.04, subd. 1(a). The “issue of restitution is reserved,” however, if the necessary information is not received by the court in time for the dispositional hearing. Id.

Minnesota Statutes § 611A.04, subd. 1(b) provides that:

The court may amend or issue an order of restitution after the sentencing or dispositional hearing if:
(1) the offender is on probation, committed to the commissioner of corrections, or on supervised release;
(2) sufficient evidence of a right to restitution has been submitted; and
(3) the true extent of the victim’s loss ... was not known at the time of the ... dispositional hearing....

H.A.D. argues that under the plain language of Minn.Stat. § 611A.04 (2008), the juvenile court lacked the authority to order restitution because she was no longer on probation when the court ordered her to pay restitution. The State responds with two alternative arguments. First, the State argues that the juvenile court essentially ordered restitution at the March 20, 2006 dispositional hearing. Second, the State argues that the June 11, 2007 restitution order was valid because the juvenile court validly extended H.A.D.’s period of probation. We consider these arguments in turn.

The State first argues, and the court of appeals held, that the juvenile court ordered restitution at the March 20, 2006 dispositional hearing, with the right to restitution conditioned on the court’s receipt of supporting affidavits from the victim. In re Welfare of H.A.D., 2008 WL 2246267, at *2. Therefore, according to the State, the juvenile court ordered restitution within H.A.D.’s probationary period, and once the court received the supporting affidavits, restitution was proper. We disagree.

In our view of the record, the juvenile court did not order restitution at the March 20, 2006 dispositional hearing. During the dispositional hearing, the court simply stated that “[a]s long as [H.A.D. is] on probation a claim for restitution can be filed.” This statement is most naturally interpreted as a reservation of the restitution issue, together with an invitation to the victim to file the necessary paperwork during H.A.D.’s probationary period.

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Bluebook (online)
764 N.W.2d 64, 2009 Minn. LEXIS 78, 2009 WL 1011100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-the-welfare-of-had-minn-2009.