People v. Newton, 665 N.W.2d 504 (Mich. Ct. App. 2003)

Cases | People v. Newton, 665 N.W.2d 504 (Mich. Ct. App. 2003) | 2018

The defendant was convicted of one count of selling alcohol without a license and was ordered to pay $2500 in restitution for overtime expenses incurred by the sheriff’s department. The defendant appealed. The appellate court held that the trial court erred in ordering the defendant to pay restitution to sheriff’s department. The cost of the investigation would have been incurred without regard to whether the defendant was found to have engaged in criminal activity. Under the plain language of Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 780.766, the general cost of investigating and prosecuting criminal activity was not direct financial harm as a result of a crime.