Burt v. Texas

Appellant was convicted of misapplication of fiduciary property in excess of $200,000, sentenced to 14 years’ confinement, and given a $10,000 fine. The trial court orally pronounced at the end of the sentencing hearing that appellant would owe restitution, but he did not specify the amount. The next day, the trial judge entered an order for $591,000 restitution in the written judgment. The court of appeals vacated the order and remanded the case to the trial court for a restitution hearing. Appellant claimed on appeal that the appellate court should have simply deleted the restitution order. The issue this case presented for the Court of Criminal Appeals was reduced to: when the record is clear that the trial judge orally made restitution a part of the sentence, but either the amount or the person(s) to whom it is owed is unclear, incorrect, or insufficient, should the restitution order be deleted or should the case remanded to the trial court for a hearing on restitution? The Court held that, in such a case, appellate courts should vacate the faulty order and remand for a new restitution hearing. View "Burt v. Texas" on Justia Law