Tripling the amount of restitution in a criminal case.

In People v Lloyd, __ Mich App __ (#310355, 5/14/2013) defendant assaulted the victim by striking her in the eye with a high-heeled shoe. The victim lost her eye and now wears a prosthetic. The prosecution charged defendant with assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder, MCL 750.84, and assault with a dangerous  weapon, MCL 750.82. The jury found defendant guilty of the lesser-included offense of misdemeanor assault.  At sentencing, the victim testified that the assault has left her emotionally, physically, and financially devastated. Plaintiff requested $42,187.21 in actual restitution pursuant to MCL 780.766(2), and asked the court to triple the award pursuant to MCL 780.766(5). The trial court agreed and ordered restitution in the amount of $126,561.63.

On appeal defendant argued that the trial court should not have ordered three times the amount of restitution under MCL 780.766(5), which states, “If a crime resulting in bodily injury also results in the death of a victim or serious impairment of body function of a victim, the court may order up to 3 times the amount of restitution otherwise allowed under this section.” As used in this subsection, “serious impairment of body function of a victim” includes loss of an eye.  Because there is no dispute that the victim suffered a serious impairment of a body function, the trial court was authorized to order restitution under this section of the statute. Significantly, the plain language of the statute gives the trial court discretion to order as much as triple the amount of any other restitution allowed, but neither limits nor specifies what the trial court may consider in exercising the discretion to do so.