State v. Piazza, 13 P.3d 567 (Or. Ct. App. 2000)

Cases | State v. Piazza, 13 P.3d 567 (Or. Ct. App. 2000) | 2018

The defendant pled guilty to an information charging him with failure to perform the duties of a driver when property is damaged as a result of a motor vehicle accident, a hit and run. The trial court imposed an order of restitution over the defendant’s objection that there was no evidence in the record related to causation of the accident. The prosecutor argued that ORS § 811.706 authorized restitution and the sentencing court imposed the order. On appeal, the defendant argued that the statute required a finding of causation and that the court had not made such a finding. The state countered with three arguments: 1) there was sufficient evidence to support a finding of causation; 2) an inference can be made that the trial court made such a finding when it imposed restitution; 3) alternatively, the state was prepared to prove causation, but was prevented from doing so. The court of appeals found there was not enough evidence to prove the defendant caused the accident; furthermore, because the trial court could not have found causation because there was no evidence, no inference could be made. The court of appeals also found that the trial court effectively decided the issue without allowing either side to present evidence as to causation. The order of restitution was vacated and the case was remanded for resentencing to permit the parties to present evidence relating to causation.