State v. Watson, 987 P.2d 1289 (Utah Ct. App. 1999)

Cases | State v. Watson, 987 P.2d 1289 (Utah Ct. App. 1999) | 2018

The defendant pled guilty to attempted obstruction of justice after allegedly driving her codefendants from the scene of a homicide and then selling the car used in the crime. She was sentenced and ordered to pay restitution to the Victim’s Reparation Fund for money it gave to the murder victim’s family for counseling. On appeal, the state conceded error. The court of appeals held that because the defendant only admitted and pleaded guilty to the obstruction of justice charge for which there were no pecuniary damages, there was no firmly established admission of responsibility on which to order the defendant to pay restitution. The order of restitution was reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings.