In this juvenile case, we consider whether Article I, section 17, of the Oregon Constitution, which requires a trial by jury in "all civil cases," applies to a restitution determination in a juvenile delinquency proceeding. Youth argues that he is entitled to a jury trial because recent constitutional and statutory amendments have transformed the juvenile restitution statute, ORS 419C.450, into a civil device through which victims of crime can recover monetary damages for their injuries. We hold that a restitution determination pursuant to ORS 419C.450 is not civil in nature and that Article I, section 17, therefore does not require a jury trial in youth's case. For the reasons set out below, we affirm the judgment of the trial court and the decision of the Court of Appeals, which similarly had rejected youth's argument. State v. N.R.L., 249 Or.App. 321, 277 P.3d 564 (2012).
The pertinent facts are not in dispute. Youth was adjudicated delinquent after admitting that he unlawfully had entered a warehouse and damaged property — acts that, if committed by an adult, would constitute second-degree burglary and first-degree criminal mischief. Before the dispositional hearing, youth moved for a jury trial, arguing that, under Article I, section 17, he was entitled to have a jury determine the amount of restitution that he should be required to pay. The juvenile court denied youth's motion and entered a judgment ordering youth to pay $114,071.13 in restitution.
Youth appealed to the Court of Appeals, again arguing that he was entitled to a jury trial on the issue of the amount of restitution that he should be required to pay. Youth acknowledged that restitution traditionally has been understood to be a criminal sanction, but he contended that the enactment of Article I, section 42, of the Oregon Constitution, along with recent amendments to the criminal and juvenile restitution statutes, had transformed that sanction into a civil recovery device whose primary purpose is compensation for victims. A claim for restitution, youth argued, is best understood as a claim for monetary damages — a claim that is indisputably civil and that therefore requires compliance with Article I, section 17.
The Court of Appeals rejected youth's argument, holding that a juvenile offender's obligation to pay restitution is "penal, not civil, in nature." N.R.L, 249 Or.App. at 332, 277 P.3d 564. The court first explained that, because the juvenile delinquency code did not exist at the time that Article I, section 17, was adopted, and because that code is neither criminal nor civil in the traditional sense, juveniles in delinquency proceedings generally are not entitled to a jury trial. Id. at 324, 277 P.3d 564. The court then considered and rejected youth's argument that, notwithstanding that history, the particular action of imposing restitution entitles youth to a jury trial. Restitution, the court explained, continues to serve deterrent and rehabilitative purposes and is not a form of civil recovery for the victim:
Id. at 332, 277 P.3d 564.
Youth petitioned for review, which we granted to determine whether Article I, section 17, applies to a juvenile restitution determination under ORS 419C.450. We review the juvenile court's denial of youth's motion for a jury trial for legal error. See State v. Rangel, 328 Or. 294, 298, 977 P.2d 379 (1999) (stating standard).
Article I, section 17, provides that, "[i]n all civil cases the right of Trial by Jury shall remain inviolate."
This court previously has addressed a comparable question. In State v. Hart, 299 Or. 128, 699 P.2d 1113 (1985), this court held that a restitution determination in an adult criminal prosecution pursuant to ORS 137.106 (1985), amended by Or. Laws 2003, ch. 670, § 1, was not civil in nature and that Article I, section 17, did not grant an right to a jury trial in such a proceeding.
Youth argues that ORS 419C.450, the juvenile restitution statute, differs from ORS 137.106 (1985), the statute at issue in Hart, in that a restitution determination under the juvenile code is not an "aspect of criminal law" but is instead a civil recovery device. There are two aspects of the juvenile restitution statute that may distinguish it from the adult restitution statute that this court analyzed in Hart. First, a restitution hearing under ORS 419C.450 occurs in the context of a juvenile delinquency, rather than an adult criminal, proceeding. Second, as presently configured, ORS 419C.450 may be different in purpose and function from the adult restitution
We take each of those considerations in turn and begin with the fact that juvenile delinquency proceedings are in many ways different from adult criminal proceedings. In State v. Reynolds, 317 Or. 560, 857 P.2d 842 (1993), this court described the differences in the two regimes as they existed in 1993 and determined that the jurisdictional phase of a juvenile proceeding under ORS 419.476(1)(a) is not a "criminal prosecution" within the meaning of Article I, section 11, of the Oregon Constitution. Id. at 563, 857 P.2d 842. Therefore, the court held, the right to a jury trial in a "criminal prosecution" as set out in that statute does not attach to such a juvenile proceeding. Id. at 575, 857 P.2d 842. That does not mean, however, that juvenile delinquency proceedings do not have criminal aspects that may make the imposition of restitution criminal rather than civil in nature for purposes of Article I, section 17.
ORS 419C.450 — the juvenile restitution statute — applies when a juvenile commits "an act that is a violation, or that if done by an adult would constitute a violation, of a law or ordinance of the United States or a state, county or city." ORS 419C.005(1). See State v. McCullough, 347 Or. 350, 359, 220 P.3d 1182 (2009) ("[j]uveniles can engage in conduct constituting a crime, even though they may not be held criminally responsible in certain cases."). On a finding that the victim of a crime has suffered injury, loss, or damage, the trial court is required to impose restitution "in addition to any other sanction it may impose." ORS 419C.450(1)(A). Thus, the imposition of restitution in a juvenile delinquency proceeding constitutes a sanction for conduct that is criminal in nature. Accordingly, restitution in a juvenile proceeding may be understood, as the court understood the restitution imposed in Hart, as an "`aspect of criminal law.'" 299 Or. at 139, 699 P.2d 1113 (quoting Dillon, 292 Or. at 180, 637 P.2d 602).
Youth argues, however, that restitution that is imposed in a juvenile proceeding is better understood as a means of compensating or restoring the person that a juvenile has injured. In other words, youth contends that restitution under ORS 419C.450 is a civil recovery device that, under current law, is different in purpose and function from the adult restitution statute that this court analyzed in Hart.
Youth explains that, prior to amendment in 2003, ORS 419C.450 (2001) provided judges with the option of imposing restitution as a sanction where a youth offender had "caused another person any physical, emotional or psychological injury or any loss of or damage to property." ORS 419C.450(1)(a) (2001), amended by Or. Laws 2003, ch. 670, § 4. The legislature explicitly encouraged the use of restitution in those instances and created a rebuttable presumption that "the obligation to make such restitution is in the best interest of the youth offender as well as of the
In 2003, following the adoption of Article I, section 42, of the Oregon Constitution,
The only flexibility that the juvenile court retains is in determining how a mandatory restitution judgment is to be carried out. Under ORS 419C.450(3)(a), a court may delay the enforcement of a restitution judgment only if it finds that the youth offender is unable to pay. If the court so finds, then the court or a designated "supervising authority" may establish a payment schedule, taking into consideration various criteria that include "the rehabilitative effect on the youth offender of the payment of restitution and the method of payment." ORS 419C.450(3)(a).
Similarly, the juvenile court is authorized to grant a motion for satisfaction of judgment under limited circumstances. A person who owes restitution may file a motion for satisfaction of the judgment if, among other criteria, at least 50 percent of the monetary obligation is satisfied or at least 10 years have passed since the original judgment was entered. ORS 419C.450(5). When a person files such a motion, the district attorney must notify the victim, who may file an objection. ORS 419C.450(6). If the victim does not object, the court "shall hold a hearing" and may enter an order granting a full or partial satisfaction of the judgment "if the allegations in the affidavit * * * are true and failure to grant the motion would result in an injustice."
Youth argues that the changes described above rendered ORS 419C.450 civil in nature because, now, the primary purpose of
Youth is correct that restitution under ORS 419C.450 serves a compensatory purpose. Although a judgment for restitution is in favor of the state and may be enforced only by the state, the funds paid pursuant to the judgment must be disbursed to the victim. ORS 419C.450(4) ("Judgments entered under this subsection are subject to ORS 18.048"); ORS 18.048(2)(b) ("If restitution * * * is awarded, [judgment must include] the name and address of the person to whom the court should disburse payments, unless the victim requests that this information be exempt from disclosure in the public record."). The legislature also requires that such payments be credited toward any sum that a victim obtains if the victim brings a civil action for damages. ORS 419C.450(2).
Youth is incorrect, however, in suggesting that, because a crime victim has an enforceable right to restitution, a restitution determination is analogous to a private right of action for damages. Article I, section 42, grants crime victims the right to "receive prompt restitution," and the provisions of ORS 147.500 to 147.550 effectuate that right. ORS 147.504(1). However, those statutory provisions do not permit a victim to assert a claim for restitution against a juvenile offender.
First, in a proceeding under ORS 419C.450 in which restitution may be imposed, crime victims are not parties. The district attorney, on behalf of the state, investigates and presents evidence concerning the nature and amount of the victim's injury or damage. ORS 419C.450(1)(a). When restitution is imposed, "[t]he judgment is in favor of the state and may be enforced only by the state * * *."
Second, although a victim who is denied a constitutional right to "receive prompt restitution" may make a "claim," ORS 147.515, that claim is not a claim for damages.
Youth also is incorrect that, because courts are now mandated to impose restitution, whether or not it will serve deterrent and rehabilitative purposes, the "primary purpose" of restitution under ORS 419C.450 is to compensate victims. In Hart, this court described restitution as a flexible sentencing tool, utilized when its imposition would further the penological purposes of rehabilitation and deterrence. See 299 Or. at 138, 699 P.2d 1113 ("[R]estitution is to be ordered only as it is relevant in correcting defendant's behavior and as a step to accomplishing the traditional goals of sentencing such as rehabilitation of the defendant and deterrence to impress upon the defendant the seriousness and cost of his offense."). It is true that ORS 419C.450 no longer retains either that flexibility or that explicit emphasis on rehabilitation. Rehabilitation now appears only as a criterion that may inform a judge's decision to delay enforcement of a restitution sanction where a youth is unable to pay
As an initial matter, restitution remains a sanction imposed by the juvenile court as a result of a youth's violation of the law. The fact that imposition of that sanction is now mandatory rather than discretionary serves to highlight its penal nature. We find it significant that, in granting crime victims the "right to receive prompt restitution," Article I, section 42, does not distinguish between juvenile delinquency and adult criminal proceedings or between juvenile and adult offenders. It defines the term "convicted criminal" to include "a youth offender in juvenile court delinquency proceedings," and it defines "criminal defendant" to include "an alleged youth offender in juvenile court delinquency proceedings."
We also note that contemporary restitution statutes always have served a combination of civil and criminal law purposes. See Hart, 299 Or. at 136, 138, 699 P.2d 1113 (restitution statute presents "a peculiar blend of both civil and criminal law concepts," and courts, in applying that statute, must "balance the offender's economic circumstances, the victim's interest in the recovery and the punitive and reformative goals * * *."). That combined purpose historically has been true as well: Before the conceptual separation of civil and criminal law, it was "standard practice to require an offender to reimburse the victim or his family for any loss caused by the offense," and "[t]he primary purpose of such restitution was not to compensate the victim, but to protect the offender from violent retaliation by the victim or the community." Hart, 299 Or. at 132, 699 P.2d 1113. As the division between civil and criminal law developed, the victim's right to compensation became incorporated into civil law; however, restitution continued to be available on a limited basis in the Anglo-American system as a penalty that served a penal purpose. Id.
Finally, the legislative history that the parties cite reveals a legislative view that "compensation for the victim" is a tool to achieve
We conclude that a restitution determination pursuant to ORS 419C.450 is not civil in nature. We therefore hold that Article I, section 17, did not grant a right to jury trial in this case.
The decision of the Court of Appeals and the judgment of the circuit court are affirmed.