Arizona Supreme Court overturns law on capping restitution amounts

PHOENIX (AP) - On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court overturned a state law limiting restitution awards for economic losses caused by certain criminal driving offenses that cause another person to be killed or seriously injured.

A 2006 law imposed a $10,000 cap on criminal restitution in those cases. On Tuesday, the higher court said that violated a right to prompt and full restitution under Victims’ Bill of Rights protections in the Arizona Constitution.

The justices upheld a Court of Appeals decision that reversed a Maricopa County Superior Court judge’s ruling that set a man’s restitution order at $10,000, down from the over $61,000 amount set by a Phoenix Municipal Court judge.

The case involved a defendant who had appealed the municipal court’s order. Prosecutors then appealed the Superior Court order.

The Supreme Court also noted that he Legislature in 2018 increased the $10,000 cap to $100,000 but said that change didn’t affect the basic issue before the court.