In re Steven J., 491 A.2d 125 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1995)

Cases | In re Steven J., 491 A.2d 125 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1995) | 2018

The appellant, a juvenile, was adjudicated delinquent, and ordered to pay restitution as a condition of his release from the intensive treatment unit of a youth development center. The juvenile appealed. The Superior Court of Pennsylvania reversed the order of disposition to the extent that it conditioned the juvenile’s release upon satisfaction of the judgment order against his mother. The court noted that it could not tell from the record whether the terms of the disposition order impermissibly conditioned the continued incarceration of a possible indigent person upon payment of restitution. Part of the disposition order imposed a judgment order against the juvenile’s mother, in favor of the assault victim, in the amount of $300. While this portion of the order was proper, the trial court did not have the power to condition the juvenile’s release upon the payment of the judgment order against his mother. Furthermore, it was not clear from the record whether the juvenile court considered the juvenile’s earning capacity before imposing the part of the disposition order that required the juvenile to make restitution in the amount of $444. Thus, the court remanded for supplementation of the record and clarification of the order.