Legal Question in Criminal Law in Michigan

The judge is holding open the possibility that the victim of a crime is still in need of restitution.

"Restitution is reserved" is a clear sign that the Judgment of Sentence order (the form the judge signs detailing what the sentence terms are) is incomplete. It's also a clear sign, in my opinion, that that court is not obeying the victims' rights laws in our state. Under Michigan's Crime Victims' Rights Act, every sentencing judge MUST determine at the sentencing hearing what the appropriate restitution amount is. This is expressed in terms of a dollar sign followed by numbers ... not words ("reserved") or letters (TBD, meaning 'to be determined'). When judges "reserve" or "to be determine" the restitution figure, they have NOT done something they MUST do: namely, make a determination of the restitution amount at the sentencing hearing. If they make a dollar figure determination then, it can be adjusted later on! The danger / flaw in your example is that the real figure will actually not ever be determined or ordered because things like this can fall through the cracks. I have seen cases where even after a defendant has been on probation for years the court has not yet "determined" the restitution figure. And victims get screwed. If the restitution amount can't be decided by the sentencing date, adjourn the sentencing date so probation can get its recommendation figures together. What should be happening at sentencing is the judge making a $_____ decision at that hearing (heck, order $0.00, or $20.25 or some other figure connected to the evidence), because any party who disagrees with the amount can then ask for a restitution hearing to battle out the figures with evidence ... but the Judgment of Sentence at least has SOME figure in it. If the figure changes after the restitution hearing, so be it. But once a final figure is determined, it's in the books, it's not falling through a crack. And, after that hurdle's been crossed, if a party develops new or updated information on the proper amount of restitution, they can come back to the court to try to adjust the amount that the court finally ordered. All of these procedures, rights, etc. are in plain English in the Crime Victims' Rights Act. It's too bad that judges/courts are not always following it.