Hampton v. State, 183 S.W.3d 148 (Ark. 2004)

Cases | Hampton v. State, 183 S.W.3d 148 (Ark. 2004) | 2018

The defendant was found guilty of nonsupport and was ordered to, among other things, pay $6,437.10 in restitution. On appeal, the defendant argued that the amount of restitution owed should be limited to the three-year statute of limitations for Class D felonies. The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the trial court and reversed the court of appeals. The Court noted that limiting the amount of restitution recoverable in a criminal case based on a statute of limitations is contrary to the goal of restitution. The Court noted further that the Arkansas Code set time limits for the prosecution of crimes, but not for the imposition of punishment. Since the goal of restitution is “to make [the] victim whole with respect to the financial injury suffered,” the Court concluded that the trial court properly ordered the defendant to pay the entire amount of unpaid child support for the six-year time period in question.