Cases | Jackson v. State, 711 So. 2d 602 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1998 | 2018
The defendant pled no contest to second degree arson and was sentenced to 54 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution. Although the defendant stipulated to paying $12,710 for the house, representing the appraised fair market value, the court ordered $51,000 in restitution. The defendant challenged that order. The court of appeals held that the state met the burden of showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, a significant relationship between the victim’s loss and the defendant’s actions, that the trial court abused its discretion in setting the award, and that ordering the defendant “to pay significantly more than the fair market value of a vacant, non-income producing home does not serve” the goals of restitution. The order was reversed and remanded.