State v. Brown

Summary

The Supreme Court of Montana held that restitution obligations imposed as part of criminal sentences survive an offender’s discharge from prison because they constitute civil judgments and remain due until fully paid. The court further held that the Montana Department of Corrections was authorized to deduct a percentage of the defendant’s prison wages and other funds in his account to satisfy those existing restitution obligations.

Holdings

1. The restitution obligations imposed in cause numbers BDC-87-121 and CDC-95-265 survived Brown's February 28, 2001 discharge and were not discharged or fulfilled by the Department of Corrections' notice of discharge.
2. The Department of Corrections was authorized to take a percentage of Brown's prison wages and other money in his Department of Corrections account to pay his existing restitution obligations, even though those obligations arose from sentences that had been discharged and were not part of his current sentence.

Questions Presented

1. Whether restitution obligations imposed in Brown's two prior criminal sentences survived his discharge from those sentences.
2. Whether the Department of Corrections was authorized to take a percentage of Brown's prison wages and other money in his Department of Corrections account to satisfy those existing restitution obligations.

Disposition

reversed