8.12Restitution1
Victims have a constitutional right to restitution. Const 1963, art 1, § 24. Additionally, restitution is mandatory under the Crime Victim’s Rights Act (CVRA), MCL 780.751 et seq., and Michigan’s general restitution statute, MCL 769.1a. See People v Garrison, 495 Mich 362, 365 (2014). The sentencing court must, on the record, “order that the defendant make full restitution as required by law to any victim of the defendant’s course of conduct that gives rise to the conviction, or to that victim’s estate.” MCR 6.425(D)(1)(f); see also MCL 769.1a(2); MCL 780.766(2) (felony article); MCL 780.794(2) (juvenile article); MCL 780.826(2) (serious misdemeanor article).2 “[B]oth [the CVRA3 and MCL 769.1a(2)] impose a duty on sentencing courts to order defendants to pay restitution that is maximal and complete.” Garrison, 495 Mich at 368 (noting that “the plain meaning of the word ‘full’ is ‘complete; entire; maximum’”) (citation omitted).
During sentencing, the court is required to specifically “order the dollar amount of restitution that the defendant must pay to make full restitution as required by law to any victim of the defendant’s course of conduct that gives rise to the conviction, or to that victim’s estate.” MCR 6.425(D)(1)(f). See also MCR 6.610(G)(1)(e) (including the same requirement for proceedings in district court).4
“Any dispute as to the proper amount or type of restitution shall be resolved by the court by a preponderance of the evidence. The burden of demonstrating the amount of the loss sustained by a victim as a result of the offense shall be on the prosecuting attorney.” MCR 6.425(D)(2)(b). See also MCR 6.610(G)(1)(e) (including the same requirement for proceedings in district court).
Because restitution is mandatory, defendants are on notice that it will be part of their sentences. People v Ronowski, 222 Mich App 58, 61 (1997). Restitution is not open to negotiation during the plea-bargaining or sentence-bargaining process. Id.
MCR 6.430 governs postjudgment motions to amend restitution in both felony and misdemeanor cases. See MCR 6.001(A)-(B). For a discussion of MCR 6.430, see the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Criminal Proceedings Benchbook, Vol. 3, Chapter 1.
1 For detailed information on restitution, see the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Crime Victim Rights Benchbook, Chapter 8.
2 The felony, juvenile, and serious misdemeanor articles of the CVRA contain substantially similar language.
3 Although the Garrison Court specifically applied MCL 780.766(2) (the restitution provision in the felony article of the CVRA), the Court’s definition of the term full restitution as “restitution that is maximal and complete” would presumably extend to the restitution provisions contained in the CVRA’s juvenile article (MCL 780.794(2)) and serious misdemeanor article (MCL 780.826(2)) as well. See Garrison, 495 Mich at 367 n 11, 368 (noting that “MCL 780.794(2) and MCL 780.826(2) have language regarding restitution similar to that in MCL 780.766(2)”).
4 For additional guidance regarding ordering and amending restitution, see the State Court Administrative Office’s Memorandum, issued June 12, 2019. Note that the link to this resource was created using Perma.cc and direct the reader to an archived record of the page.