People v. Harvest

101 Cal. Rptr. 2d 135, 84 Cal. App. 4th 641, 2000 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8792, 2000 Daily Journal DAR 11669, 2000 Cal. App. LEXIS 837
California Court of Appeal·Decided October 31, 2000·No. A087494·Published·Cited by 99 cases

Opinion

101 Cal.Rptr.2d 135 (2000)
84 Cal.App.4th 641

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,
v.
Joshua HARVEST, Defendant and Appellant.

No. A087494.

Court of Appeal, First District, Division Four.

October 31, 2000.
Review Denied February 28, 2001.[*]

*136 Scott A. Sugarman, San Francisco, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, Attorney for Appellant.

Bill Lockyer, Attorney General, David P. Druliner, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Ronald A. Bass, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Ronald E. Niver, Supervising Deputy Attorney General, Karl S. Mayer, Deputy Attorney General, Attorneys for Respondent.

HANLON, P.J.

In People v. Hanson (2000) 23 Cal.4th 355, 97 Cal.Rptr.2d 58, 1 P.3d 650, our Supreme Court held that the double jeopardy provisions of the California Constitution prohibited a trial court from increasing a statutorily-mandated restitution fine following retrial after appeal. The issue presented here is whether the same result applies to direct restitution to victims of crime. We conclude that court-ordered *137 victim restitution imposed for the first time at a resentencing following appeal is not punishment and is therefore not constitutionally barred.

BACKGROUND

Defendant Joshua Harvest was convicted of the first-degree murder of Joel Vigil and the second-degree murder of Michael Gialouris. The jury found true a multiple murder special circumstance allegation. There was no provision for victim restitution made at his sentencing because the court reserved the issue. On defendant's appeal, this court affirmed the first degree murder conviction; the second degree murder conviction and the special circumstance finding were reversed, and the prosecution was given the choice between a retrial or consenting to a reduction of the charge to voluntary manslaughter. (People v. Harvest (June 5, 1998, A068802) [nonpub. opn.].)

After the prosecution elected not to retry defendant for second degree murder, the trial court set a date for resentencing. In addition to the standard sentencing statement, the prosecution also submitted a memorandum of points and authorities "in support of restitution" to the Vigil and Gialouris families. Defendant made a number of written objections to ordering restitution at resentencing. He believed the prosecution's "request for restitution" was untimely and exceeded the scope of the remand from this court. He urged that the prosecution was estopped to seek restitution at this time, not having done so at the first sentencing. Finally, he argued that any order for restitution would constitute double jeopardy under the California Constitution.

At the sentencing hearing the trial court overruled defendant's jurisdictional objections and ordered defendant to make restitution as follows: (1) $7,641 to Vigil's parents for funeral and burial expenses; (2) $5,500 to Gialouris's mother for funeral and burial expenses; and (3) $23,160 to Vigil's former wife for child support. The court denied additional claims by Vigil's parents for property damage, legal expenses for a civil suit against defendant, and the loss of anticipated income Vigil might have provided. It sentenced defendant to 11 years for the manslaughter of Gialouris and a consecutive term of 25 years to life for the murder of Vigil. Defendant thereafter filed a timely notice of appeal.

REVIEW

I

"Persons may not twice be put in jeopardy" (Cal. Const., art. I, § 15; see id., § 24). Defendant invoked this principle in the trial court and renews it here, arguing that it must prevail in light of People v. Hanson, supra, 23 Cal.4th 355, 97 Cal. Rptr.2d 58, 1 P.3d 650.

The doctrinal basis of Hanson, initially developed in the context of capital sentencing and subsequently extended, is that a defendant should not face increased punishment for having successfully appealed the initial conviction. (See People v. Hanson, supra, 23 Cal.4th 355, 358-360, 97 Cal.Rptr.2d 58, 1 P.3d 650 and decisions cited.) As the Supreme Court framed the principle in an earlier decision, "a defendant should not be required to risk being given greater punishment on a retrial for the privilege of exercising his right to appeal." (People v. Ali (1967) 66 Cal.2d 277, 281, 57 Cal.Rptr. 348, 424 P.2d 932.)

The Hanson Court then considered whether, as a matter of statutory construction, the Legislature intended restitution fines to constitute punishment. Its analysis, with copious references to the Penal Code, proceeded as follows: "To begin, restitution fines are imposed only upon conviction of a criminal offense. (See § 1202.4, subd. (a).) Although originally enacted as part of the Government Code, the operative statute is now contained in the Penal Code (§ 1202.4 ...), which expressly denominates `fines' as `punishments.' *138 (§ 15; see §§ 17, subd. (b), 18, 19, 19.6, 19.8....) Section 1202.4, subdivision (a)(3), provides that restitution fines are distinct from restitution orders and are `in addition to any other penalty....' [Citation.] [¶] Several other features of the statute compare with the imposition of criminal punishment generally. Except for `compelling and extraordinary reasons,' which the trial court must state on the record (§ 1202.4, subd. (c)), a restitution fine is mandatory even in the absence of a crime victim (§ 1202.4, subd. (a)(3)(A)) and must be made a condition of probation, if granted (§ 1202.4, subd. (m)). As with other types of fines, the money is deposited into the state treasury; it is earmarked for the Restitution Fund, which enables the state to compensate victims of crimes. (§ 1202.4, subd. (e)....) The amount varies in the trial court's discretion—ranging from a minimum of $200 to a maximum of $10,000 (§ 1202.4, subd. (b)(1))—and may be calculated by multiplying $200 by the years of imprisonment imposed and then multiplying by the number of counts. (§ 1202.4, subd. (b)(2).) In addition, the court `shall consider any relevant factors including ... the seriousness and gravity of the offense and the circumstances of its commission, ... and the number of victims involved in the crime.' (§ 1202.4, subd. (d).) 'A defendant's inability to pay shall not be considered a compelling and extraordinary reason not to impose a restitution fine.' (§ 1202.4, subd. (c).)" (People v. Hanson, supra, 23 Cal.4th 355, 361-362, 97 Cal. Rptr.2d 58, 1 P.3d 650.) The Court's conclusion was that "the Legislature intended restitution fines as a criminal penalty rather than as a civil remedy." (Id. at p. 362, 97 Cal.Rptr.2d 58, 1 P.3d 650.)

Using this analysis as a template, we conclude that victim restitution (what the Hanson Court termed "restitution orders") is qualitatively different from a restitution fine. It is true that both forms of restitution share an identical statutory basis. (Former Gov.Code, § 13967; Pen. Code, § 1202.4.) But whereas "restitution fines are imposed only upon conviction of a criminal offense" (People v. Hanson, supra, 23 Cal.4th 355, 361, 97 Cal.Rptr.2d 58, 1 P.3d 650), victim restitution is a civil remedy which does not require a criminal forum. (E.g., Rest., Restitution (1937) §§ 4-5; Dinosaur Development, Inc. v. White (1989) 216 Cal.App.3d 1310, 1314-1315, 265 Cal.Rptr. 525.) The governing statutes specify that an order for victim restitution may originate from criminal court, but expressly recognize that such an order "shall be enforceable as a civil judgment." (Former Gov.Code, § 13967, subd. (c); Pen.Code, § 1202.4, subds.

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People v. Harvest, 101 Cal. Rptr. 2d 135, 84 Cal. App. 4th 641, 2000 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 8792, 2000 Daily Journal DAR 11669, 2000 Cal. App. LEXIS 837 (Cal. Ct. App. 2000).

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