2001 Alaska Statutes
Title 12 CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
Chapter 12.55. SENTENCING AND PROBATION
Sec. 12.55.045. Restitution.

(a) The court may order a defendant convicted of an offense to make restitution as provided in this section, including restitution to the victim or other person injured by the offense, to a public, private, or private nonprofit organization that has provided or is or will be providing counseling, medical, or shelter services to the victim or other person injured by the offense, or as otherwise authorized by law. In determining the amount and method of payment of restitution, the court shall take into account the

(1) public policy that favors requiring criminals to compensate for damages and injury to their victims; and

(2) financial burden placed on the victim and those who provide services to the victim and other persons injured by the offense as a result of the criminal conduct of the defendant.

(b) An order of restitution under this section does not limit any civil liability of the defendant arising from the defendant's conduct.

(c) If a defendant is sentenced to pay restitution, the court may grant permission for the payment to be made within a specified period of time or in specified installments. If the defendant fails to make one or more payments required under this section, the victim or the state on the victim's behalf may enforce the total amount remaining under the order of restitution as provided in ( l ) of this section.

(d) In any case, including a case in which the defendant is convicted of a violation of AS 11.46.120 - 11.46.150 and the property is commercial fishing gear as defined in AS 16.43.990 , the court shall consider the victim's loss and may order restitution that may include compensation for loss of income.

(e) If a defendant is convicted of vehicle theft in the first degree in violation of AS 11.46.360 or vehicle theft in the second degree in violation of AS 11.46.365 (a)(1), and the victim of the offense incurs damage or loss as a result of the offense, the court shall order the defendant to pay restitution.

(f) If a court proposes to order a defendant to pay restitution under this section of more than $5,000, and the defendant's sentence includes a period of unsuspended incarceration exceeding 90 days, the court may take into account at the time of sentencing the defendant's present and future ability to pay the restitution proposed. The court shall presume that the defendant has the ability to pay the amount proposed unless the defendant at the sentencing hearing establishes by clear and convincing evidence the inability to pay the amount proposed.

(g) Except as provided by (f) of this section, the court may not, in ordering the amount of restitution, consider the defendant's ability to pay restitution.

(h) In imposing restitution under this section, the court may require the defendant to make restitution by means other than the payment of money.

(i) An order of restitution made under this section is a condition of the defendant's sentence and, in cases in which the court suspends all or a portion of the defendant's sentence, the order of restitution is a condition of the suspended sentence. If the court suspends imposition of sentence under AS 12.55.085 , the order of restitution is a condition of the suspended imposition of sentence.

(j) A defendant who is convicted of an offense for which restitution may be ordered shall submit financial information as ordered by the court. The Alaska Court System shall prepare a form, in consultation with the Department of Law, for the submission of the information; the form must include a warning that submission of incomplete or inaccurate information is punishable as unsworn falsification under AS 11.56.210 . A defendant who is convicted of (1) a felony shall submit the form to the probation office within 30 days after conviction, and the probation officer shall attach the form to the presentence report, or (2) a misdemeanor shall file the form with the defendant's response or opposition to the restitution amount. The defendant shall provide a copy of the completed form to the prosecuting authority.

(k) The court, on its own motion or at the request of the prosecuting authority or probation officer, may order a defendant on probation who has been ordered to pay restitution to submit financial information to the court using the form specified in (j) of this section. The defendant shall file the completed form with the court within five days after the court's order. The defendant shall provide a copy of the completed form to the prosecuting authority and the person's probation officer, if any.

(l) An order by the court that the defendant pay restitution is a civil judgment for the amount of the restitution. The victim or the state on behalf of the victim may enforce the judgment through any procedure authorized by law for the enforcement of a civil judgment. If the victim enforces or collects restitution through civil process, collection costs and full reasonable attorney fees shall be awarded. If the state on the victim's behalf enforces or collects restitution through civil process, collection costs and full reasonable attorney fees shall be awarded, up to a maximum of twice the amount of restitution owing at the time the civil process was initiated. This section does not limit the authority of the court to enforce orders of restitution.

(m) In this section, "conviction" means that the defendant has entered a plea of guilty, guilty but mentally ill, or nolo contendere, or has been found guilty or guilty but mentally ill by a court or jury.