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Keywords

defendantdamagesstatuteappealpleasustainedrestitution

defendantdamagesliabilitysustainedrestitution

Related Cases

State ex rel. McDougall v. Superior Court In and For County of Maricopa, 186 Ariz. 218, 920 P.2d 784

Facts

On December 26, 1994, Severiano Martinez caused a traffic accident by turning left in front of Bonnie Frazier's car, resulting in injuries to Frazier and a passenger, as well as significant damage to Frazier's vehicle. Martinez left the scene and was later charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving injury and making an unsafe turn. After pleading guilty to the charges, Frazier's insurance company sought restitution for the damages, but the municipal court denied the request, leading to the state's appeal.

Additionally, Frazier's insurance company sought restitution for the $13,266 paid to Frazier. The municipal court refused to order Martinez to pay the restitution requested by Frazier's insurance company.

Issue

Whether a defendant who causes an injury accident and is convicted of leaving the scene of that accident must pay restitution for damages caused in the underlying accident.

The state alleges the municipal court erred by not requiring Martinez to pay restitution for damages caused in the accident. We disagree.

Rule

Restitution is only required for losses caused by the criminal conduct for which the defendant was convicted, and not for noncriminal acts. The court must consider whether the defendant's actions aggravated the victim's injuries.

The plain language of both the constitutional and statutory provisions requires restitution only for losses caused by the criminal conduct for which defendant was convicted.

Analysis

The court analyzed the plain language of the Arizona Constitution and relevant statutes, concluding that restitution is mandated only for losses directly caused by the criminal conduct. In this case, the injuries sustained by the victims were not aggravated by Martinez's act of leaving the scene, but rather were a result of his civil traffic offense. Therefore, the court held that Martinez was not liable for restitution.

In the present case, none of the injuries for which the state seeks restitution was caused by Martinez' criminal conduct. The criminal offense of leaving the scene of an injury accident did not result in the aggravation of injuries sustained in the underlying accident.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the municipal court's decision, holding that Martinez was not required to pay restitution for the damages caused in the accident.

We, therefore, hold Martinez' liability for the underlying accident does not require restitution as part of Martinez' sentence for leaving the scene of the accident.

Who won?

Martinez prevailed in the case because the court found that his actions in leaving the scene did not cause or exacerbate the injuries for which restitution was sought.

The law is well-established that an insurance company that sustains losses as a result of criminal conduct is entitled to restitution.

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Roadway Exp., Inc. v. Piper, 447 U.S. 752, 100 S.Ct. 2455, 65 L.Ed.2d 488, 23 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 12, 23 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 31,025, 29 Fed.R.Serv.2d 733

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