J.B. v. State of Indiana , 55 N.E.3d 831 ( 2016 )

FILED
May 27 2016, 8:28 am
CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
Deborah Markisohn Gregory F. Zoeller
Marion County Public Defender Agency Attorney General of Indiana
Appellate Division
Indianapolis, Indiana J.T. Whitehead
Deputy Attorney General
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
J.B., May 27, 2016
Appellant-Defendant, Court of Appeals Case No.
49A02-1509-JV-1372
v. Appeal from the Marion Superior
Court
State of Indiana, The Honorable Marilyn A.
Appellee-Plaintiff. Moores, Judge
The Honorable Scott Stowers,
Magistrate
Trial Court Cause No.
49D09-1506-JD-1015
49D09-1405-JD-1331
49D09-1209-JD-2586
49D09-1209-JD-2615
49D09-1209-JD-2653
May, Judge.
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[1] The trial court ordered J.B., a juvenile, to pay restitution in two cases. It
reduced the restitution orders to civil judgments and added civil judgment fees.
J.B. appealed the civil judgment order and corresponding fees. The State
concedes there was error and remand is appropriate. During the pendency of
this appeal, the trial court rescinded the challenged order, making moot the
issue J.B. raised on appeal. 1 Because the issue is likely to recur and is of public
importance, we address whether the trial court had authority to impose a civil
judgment as part of a restitution order. It did not.
Facts and Procedural History
[2] The trial court determined J.B. violated his probation in causes 49D09-1209-
JD-2653 (Cause 2653), 49D09-1209-JD-2615 (Cause 2615), 49D09-1209-JD-
2586 (Cause 2586), and 49D09-1405-JD-1331 (Cause 1331). On August 14,
2015, the trial court held a disposition hearing where it ordered J.B. to pay
restitution of $500.00 in Cause 2586 and $500.00 in Cause 2653.
[3] The trial court reduced the restitution orders to civil judgments and added civil
judgment fees of $252.50 and $315.63, respectively (“August 14 Orders”). On
August 17, 2015, the trial court entered a separate judgment ordering J.B. to
1
On April 1, 2016, J.B. filed a “Verified Motion to Address Issue Presented Under the Public Interest
Exception to the Mootness Doctrine.” (Motion at 1.) In it, J.B. references a trial court order dated March 1,
2016, in which the trial court rescinded its August 17 Order and ordered J.B. to complete the “Restitution
Work Program.” (Motion Exhibit A at 3.) As we address the issues presented in J.B.’s appeal under the
public interest exception to the mootness doctrine, we grant J.B.’s motion contemporaneously with this
opinion.
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pay $500.00 in restitution for Cause 2586 and $500.00 in restitution for Cause
2653 and assessed a civil judgment fee of $250.00 (“August 17 Order”).
[4] On August 20, 2015, J.B. filed a “Motion to Correct Error and to Rescind
Order for Civil Judgement [sic] Fee.” (App. at 533.) He asked the trial court to
clarify whether the August 17 Order superseded the August 14 Orders and to
rescind the civil judgment fees 2 assessed in both orders. On August 25, 2015,
the trial court rescinded the August 14 Order but denied J.B.’s “request to not
assess civil judgment fees.” (Id. at 556.) The August 17 Order remained in
effect, and thus J.B. owed a civil judgment of $1,250.00.
Discussion and Decision
[5] After J.B filed this appeal, the trial court rescinded the August 17 Order that is
the subject of this appeal. Thus, the issue J.B. raises is moot. A case should be
2
In its brief, the State notes:
What remains to determine is whether the trial court’s denial of J.B.’s request not to
assess civil judgment fees was made in order to impose court costs normally associated
with the imposition of restitution, but simply mis-named. Put another way, there can be
no “civil judgment” fees where there is no longer any civil judgment. If the costs are the
correct amounts for court costs associated with the imposition of restitution, and the
juvenile court simply intended to waive all other costs excepting those accompanying the
restitution order, then the order is simply wrong semantically. If the costs are indeed and
in fact and in effect civil judgment costs, then they have remained despite the fact that
restitution cannot be reduced to a “civil judgment.” Clarification on this point, and by
extension remand, appears necessary.
(Br. of Appellee at 14.)
During the dispositional hearing, the trial court stated, “Show restitution reduced to civil judgment. The
remaining Court fees will be waived.” (Tr. at 97.) It is unclear from the record what the “civil judgment fee”
referenced in the August 14 Orders and the August 17 Order encompasses, especially since the amount is
different in each order. In addition, we were unable to locate, and the parties did not direct us to, statutory
authority to assess a civil judgment fee.
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dismissed as moot when no effective relief can be rendered to the parties before
the court. W.R.S. v. State, 759 N.E.2d 1121, 1122-23 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001).
However, a public interest exception to the mootness doctrine allows us to
review issues of great public importance. Id. at 1123. The public interest
exception is usually recognized in cases that involve issues likely to recur. Id.
Whether a juvenile court may reduce a restitution order to a civil judgment has
not been addressed in any published Indiana opinion. We accordingly address
that issue.
[6] To determine the trial court’s authority, we interpret the relevant statutes:
Statutory interpretation is a question of law and is reviewed de
novo, or without deference to the trial court’s interpretation.
Curley v. Lake Cnty. Bd. of Elections & Registration, 896 N.E.2d 24,
34 (Ind. Ct. App. 2008), trans. denied. “When a statute has not
previously been construed, our interpretation is controlled by the
express language of the statute and the rules of statutory
construction.” State v. Prater, 922 N.E.2d 746, 748 (Ind. Ct. App.
2010), trans. denied. “If a statute is unambiguous, that is,
susceptible to but one meaning, we must give the statute its clear
and plain meaning.” Curley, 896 N.E.2d at 34 (quotations
omitted). “If a statute is susceptible to multiple interpretations,
we must try to ascertain the legislature’s intent and interpret the
statute so as to effectuate that intent.” Id. (quotation omitted).
“We review the statute as a whole and presume the legislature
intended a logical application of the language used in the statute,
so as to avoid unjust or absurd results.” Prater, 922 N.E.2d at
748. “[W]e must consider not only what the statute says but
what it does not say.” Curley, 896 N.E.2d at 37. In other words,
“we are obliged to suppose that the General Assembly chose the
language it did for a reason.” Prater, 922 N.E.2d at 750.
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M.M. v. State, 31 N.E.3d 516, 519 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015).
[7] Ind. Code § 31-37-19-5(b)(4) permits the trial court to “[o]rder the child to pay
restitution if the victim provides reasonable evidence of the victim’s loss, which
the child may challenge at the dispositional hearing.” By contrast, a restitution
order imposed in addition to any sentence for a felony or misdemeanor
committed by an adult is a judgment lien 3 that:
(1) attaches to the property of the person subject to the order;
(2) may be perfected;
(3) may be enforced to satisfy any payment that is delinquent
under the restitution order by the person in whose favor the order
is issued or the person’s assignee; and
(4) expires;
in the same manner as a judgment lien created in a civil
proceeding.
Ind. Code § 35-50-5-3. There is no judgment lien provision in the juvenile
statute, and we decline to read into the juvenile code a provision not explicitly
stated. See Peele v. Gillespie, 658 N.E.2d 954, 958 (Ind. Ct. App. 1995) (we may
not read into a statute that which is not the expressed intent of the legislature),
3
An order of restitution under Ind. Code § 35-50-5-3 “substitutes for the civil judgment which is normally the
basis for a judgment lien.” Wininger v. Purdue Univ., 666 N.E.2d 455, 458 (Ind. Ct. App. 1996), reh’g denied,
trans. denied.
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reh’g denied, trans. denied. The trial court therefore did not have authority to
order J.B. to pay the restitution owed to his victims as a civil judgment.
Conclusion
[8] A trial court may not order a juvenile to pay restitution as a civil judgment
because Ind. Code § 31-37-19-5(b)(4) does not permit it to do so. However,
since the trial court has rescinded the August 17 Order, we will not disturb the
proceedings of the trial court.
[9] Remanded.
Baker, J., and Brown, J., concur.
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