1.12Restitution1
Restitution is mandatory for an offender convicted of a felony, misdemeanor, or ordinance violation. MCL 769.1a(2); MCL 780.766(2); MCL 780.794(2); MCL 780.826(2). Restitution is also mandatory “[f]or an offense that is resolved by assignment of the defendant to youthful trainee status, by a delayed sentence or deferred judgment of guilt, or in another way that is not an acquittal or unconditional dismissal[.]” MCL 780.766(2); MCL 780.826(2). See also MCL 780.794(2), which also requires the court to order restitution “[f]or an offense that is resolved informally by means of a consent calendar diversion or by another informal method that does not result in a dispositional hearing[.]”
MCR 6.430 governs postjudgment motions to amend restitution. The prosecuting attorney, victim, or defendant may file a postjudgment motion to amend an order of restitution “based upon new or updated information related to the injury, damages, or loss for which the restitution was ordered.” MCR 6.430(A).
See the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Crime Victim Rights Benchbook, Chapter 8, for detailed information about restitution.
1 Note that “[t]he court shall not sentence a defendant to a term of incarceration . . . for failure to comply with an order to pay money unless the court finds, on the record, that the defendant is able to comply with the order without manifest hardship and that the defendant has not made a good-faith effort to comply with the order.” MCR 6.425(D)(3)(a). MCR 6.425(D)(3) also addresses payment alternatives and offers guidance for determining manifest hardship. For a detailed discussion of MCR 6.425(D)(3), see the Michigan Judicial Institute’s Criminal Proceedings Benchbook Vol. 2, Chapter 8.