State v. Pacheco, 42 P.3d 351 (Or. Ct. App. 2002)

Cases | State v. Pacheco, 42 P.3d 351 (Or. Ct. App. 2002) | 2018

The defendant, an illegal alien, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully obtaining public assistance while working illegally in the United States. The defendant was sentenced to 18 months probation and was ordered to pay $20,218 in restitution to the state, to be docketed as a civil judgment and paid at the rate of $100 per month. On appeal, the defendant argued that the court, when setting the amount and terms of restitution, erroneously failed to take into account the defendant’s ability to pay, or at least did not consider it rationally since she is not lawfully permitted to work in the United States. The court of appeals held that the trial court’s rationale of acknowledging the problem of how to award restitution to victims when the defendant is unable to lawfully work, but then basing the defendant’s ability to pay solely on her prior employment history, did not justify the restitution amount and vacated the order and remanded for further proceedings.