Commonwealth v. Wozniakowski, 860 A.2d 539 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2004)

Cases | Commonwealth v. Wozniakowski, 860 A.2d 539 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2004) | 2018

The defendant pled nolo contendere to one count of simple assault and two counts of harassment. At sentencing, the defendant was ordered to make restitution to the victim. The probation department later calculated restitution in the amount of $1,803.79. Approximately six months later, the Commonwealth petitioned for additional restitution in the amount of $4,628 for the victim’s current and future dental work. After two hearings, the court granted the Commonwealth’s petition for additional restitution. The defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to amend the order of restitution to add $4,628. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania vacated the initial order of restitution, as well as the order increasing the amount of restitution. The court found that the initial open-ended order of restitution that was included in the judgment of sentence was illegal ab initio. The trial court erred when it delegated to the probation department its statutorily-imposed obligation to specify, at the time of sentencing, the amount of restitution owed to the victim. Furthermore, the victim sought compensation, primarily for future dental work, almost one year after the assault, based on information that reasonably could have been determined prior to the initial sentencing. The defendant had already served her sentence in its entirety when the Commonwealth filed its petition for additional restitution. Finally, since the initial open-ended order of restitution was illegal, any restitution paid to the victim had to be returned to the defendant.