Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

Restitution question.

In the case of paying restitution, if mutiple parties were ordered to pay back one lump sum, how could one go about paying there portion and having there name cleared off of a court order?


Asked on 12/22/07, 9:06 am

1 Answer from Attorneys

Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: Restitution question.

Unless the court said a particular defendant was responsible only for a particular portion of the total, the restitution was imposed "jointly and severally". This means each defendant can be held responsible for the entire amount, though the victim can only be compensated once. Thus, if one defendant becomes wealthy while the others remain poor, she can be forced to pay the entire amount. She would then be able to sue the other defendants for their shares if she wanted to.

Read more
Answered on 12/22/07, 2:43 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Criminal Law questions and answers in California