State v. Robison

Summary

The court held that Kansas's criminal restitution scheme does not violate the Sixth Amendment because restitution does not trigger the jury-trial protections applicable to facts increasing a criminal maximum or mandatory minimum. It held, however, that the scheme violated section 5 of the Kansas Constitution because it allowed judges to determine losses that were then converted into civil judgments, bypassing the jury's historical role in determining civil damages. The court severed the provisions making restitution enforceable as civil judgments while preserving judicial authority to impose restitution as part of a sentence or probation condition, and affirmed the restitution order.