Rule 705.1. Restitution.
(A) At the time of sentencing, the judge shall determine what restitution, if any, shall be imposed.
(B) In any case in which restitution is imposed, the judge shall state in the sentencing order:
(1) the amount of restitution ordered;
(2) the details of a payment plan, if any, including when payment is to begin;
(3) the identity of the payee(s);
(4) to which officer or agency the restitution payment shall be made;
(5) whether any restitution has been paid and in what amount; and
(6) whether the restitution has been imposed as a part of the sentence and/or as a condition of probation.
Comment This rule provides the procedures for the statutory requirement for the judge to impose restitution. In all cases in which restitution is imposed, the sentencing judge must state on the record the amount of restitution at the time of sentencing. See 18 Pa.C.S. § 1106 and 42 Pa.C.S. § § 9721, 9728.
The extent of restitution also may be provided by statute. See, e.g., 18 Pa.C.S. § 1107 (restitution for timber theft); § 1107.1 (restitution for identity theft); and § 1110 (restitution for cleanup of clandestine labs).
When imposing restitution, the sentencing judge should consider whether the defendant has received notice of the intention to seek restitution prior to the hearing and whether the defendant intends to object to the imposition of restitution. The sentencing hearing may need to be continued as a result.
Paragraph (B)(6) requires that the sentencing order make clear whether any restitution is being imposed as a part of the sentence pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S. § 1106 or as a condition of probation pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S. § 9754. Unlike restitution imposed under § 1106 that is penal in nature, restitution imposed as a condition of probation is primarily aimed at rehabilitation. Sentences of probation give a trial court the flexibility to determine all the direct and indirect damages caused by a defendant. Commonwealth v. Harner, 617 A.2d 702 (Pa. 1992); Commonwealth v. Hall, 80 A.3d 1204 (Pa. 2013). Because a term of probation may not exceed the maximum term for which the defendant could be confined, and a court cannot enforce a restitution sentence past the statutory maximum date, a court may not require that restitution imposed as a condition of probation be paid beyond the statutory maximum date. Commonwealth v. Karth, 994 A.2d 606 (Pa. Super. 2010).
Certain costs are mandatory and must be imposed. See, e.g., Section 1101 of the Crime Victims Act, 18 P.S. § 11.1101.
Official Note
New Rule 705.1 adopted March 9, 2016, effective July 1, 2016.
Committee Explanatory Reports:
Final Report explaining new Rule 705.1 concerning sentences of restitution published with the Court’s Order at 46 Pa.B. 1540 (March 26, 2016).
Source The provisions of this Rule 705.1 adopted March 9, 2016, effective July 1, 2016, 46 Pa.B. 1532.
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