LINCOLN — The Nebraska Supreme Court upheld a Juvenile Court judge’s decision to order a 14-year-old Grand Island boy to pay $2,500 in restitution over his attorney’s argument that he lacked the ability to pay.
Friday’s decision came in a Hall County case in which a boy, 13, pushed another boy, causing him to fall and breaking his arm.
The boy later admitted to misdemeanor assault and received a year of probation. The only issue under appeal was restitution.
He and his attorney agreed on the amount of restitution ($2,553.05) but disagreed about the 14-year-old’s ability to pay it.
At a hearing in Hall County Court, the boy’s mother testified that due to the family’s work schedules, no one in the home would be available to take her son, who does not have a driver’s license, to and from job.
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She said she and her husband have five children. She works day shifts and her husband works night shifts. The eldest brother also works during the night. Even if her 14-year-old son got her license, she said, they didn’t have a spare vehicle for him to use.
According to the Nebraska Supreme Court decision, the boy testified that although he had removed ears of corn one summer, he was currently unemployed and participated in wrestling and football after school.
His Hall County Deputy Public Defender, Sidnea Brown, opposed restitution, saying “putting this family in a financial bind to try to drive him to and from a job would be worse than not being able to pay restitution to the victim.” . .”
But Hall County Court Judge Arthur Wetzel disagreed, saying that while he didn’t want the restitution to create hardship for the boy or his family, he also didn’t want the victim’s family to suffer hardship.
He said it could be “troublesome,” but he didn’t think it would be insurmountable for the child to pay.
“I think it’s extremely important that you make amends for the harm you caused,” Wetzel told him.
On appeal, Brown argued that employment would be a hardship on his parents and would harm, rather than help, his reform and rehabilitation.
“We respectfully disagree,” Judge Stephanie Stacy wrote in Friday’s order, upholding the lower court’s decision.
He said that under Nebraska law, parents can be held liable for medical expenses resulting from a personal injury deliberately and intentionally inflicted by their minor child.
“Therefore, paying restitution not only allows (the child) to assume direct personal responsibility for medical expenses incurred by the victim due to his or her conduct, but may also reduce his or her parents’ exposure to such harms,” he said. Stacy.
He said the court saw no reason why he couldn’t work to pay restitution and continue participating in extracurricular sports.
In the last legislative session, Voices for Children in Nebraska raised the issue of restitution and other costs imposed by courts in juvenile cases, saying in a press release that “system-involved youth and their families suffer from the discriminatory practice.” and harmful judicial debt.”
According to the release, between 2019 and 2022, courts imposed $760,477 in total costs on Nebraska families, including $347,223 in restitution.
State Senator Wendy DeBoer introduced House Bill 1089, which would specifically prevent court costs, probation costs, drug testing costs, and other incidental costs in the court system from being imposed on minors or their families for youth actions. It was postponed indefinitely in April.
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