Koile v. State
| Decision Date | 06 July 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. SC05132.,SC05132. |
| Citation | 934 So.2d 1226 |
| Parties | Timothy Thomas KOILE, Petitioner, v. STATE of Florida, Respondent. |
| Court | Florida Supreme Court |
James S. Purdy, Public Defender and Thomas J. Lukashow and Marvin F. Clegg, Assistant Public Defenders, Seventh Judicial Circuit, Daytona Beach, FL, for Petitioner.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, FL, Kristen L. Davenport, Belle B. Schumann and Kellie A. Nielan, Assistant Attorneys General, Daytona Beach, FL, for Respondent.
We have for review a decision of the Fifth District Court of Appeal on the following questions, which the court certified to be of great public importance:
DOES SECTION 775.089, FLORIDA STATUTES (2003), AUTHORIZE A RESTITUTION AWARD FOR THE LOST WAGES OF A NEXT OF KIN VOLUNTARILY ATTENDING THE MURDER TRIAL OF THE PERSON ACCUSED OF KILLING THE VICTIM?
Koile v. State, 902 So.2d 822, 827-28 (Fla.5th DCA 2005). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. For the reasons expressed below, we answer the first certified question in the negative and the second question in the affirmative.
Timothy Koile and Catherine Stanek Cousins were indicted for the first-degree murder of Sean Patrick Cousins. During the trial, Koile entered a plea of no contest to second-degree murder pursuant to a plea bargain in which he agreed to a specific incarcerative sentence and further agreed to pay restitution in an unstipulated amount. Subsequently, the trial court held a hearing regarding the proper amount of restitution. At the hearing, the following evidence was presented:
[T]he victim's father, Patrick Cousins, testified that he had incurred a number of expenses, many of which are not contested, that resulted from his son's murder. Among the uncontested expenses, for example, were funeral and burial costs. He also testified, however, that he elected to attend the three-week trial of Mr. Koile, and that as a result, he lost income of about $12,000. He admitted that he only testified at the trial on a single day. The victim's mother, Roseanne Cousins, indicated that she lost $1,500 in wages during the three-week trial period, and likewise related that she only testified on a single day of the trial. She testified, as well, that a wrongful death suit had been brought, and was still pending against Mr. Koile and his co-defendant, who was the wife of the murder victim.
In addition, the State also presented evidence on behalf of the victim's estate concerning the loss of future income of the victim. It appears that the victim had been a first officer with Air Jamaica, and was compensated with a salary of $87,988 per year. He was expected to be promoted to captain in the future, at which time he would earn $156,882 per year. There was also testimony presented concerning the airline's mandatory retirement plan and pension contributions. To prove up the lost future earnings of the victim, the State called a certified public accountant, who testified that the victim's future income was $3,322,743, assuming his promotion to captain, and assuming that he worked until age 60.
Koile, 902 So.2d at 823-24. After considering the testimony and evidence presented during the hearing, the trial court rendered a written order assessing restitution against Koile and his codefendant, jointly and severally. The court awarded the victim's parents the lost wages that they claimed so that they could attend the trial, along with other expenses they incurred, and further awarded the victim's estate $2,042,126 in damages, an amount which represented the present value of the victim's lost earnings without assuming that he would have been promoted to captain. Koile filed a timely appeal to the Fifth District, challenging the restitution order.
On appeal, the Fifth District addressed whether it was appropriate to assess the following two items as restitution: (1) the lost wages of the victim's parents for the income they lost while attending the trial; and (2) the lost future earnings of the decedent. The court noted that in order for restitution to be considered reasonable, it must bear a significant relationship to the offense for which the defendant was convicted and there must be a causal connection between the criminal conduct and the loss claimed by the victim. Id. at 825. The court first concluded that in the absence of a statute which specifically authorizes such an award, the trial court should not have awarded lost wages for the next of kin who voluntarily attends the trial because there is not a "significant relationship between the underlying criminal offense, and the attendance at trial of what is unquestionably a very interested spectator." Id. at 826 (internal quotation marks omitted). In reaching this decision, the court relied on J.S. v. State, 717 So.2d 175 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998), a decision in which the Fourth District held that a court could not award wages lost by the direct victims of an offense as a result of their attendance at court proceedings because the attendance did not bear a significant relationship to the underlying criminal offense. Koile, 902 So.2d at 826. In turning to the second issue, however, the Fifth District reached a different conclusion, determining that section 775.089, Florida Statutes (2003), authorized the estate of a murder victim to receive as restitution the future lost income of the murder victim. The court did not agree with the trial court's determination with regard to the proper amount of restitution, reversing the award in part because the trial court failed to deduct living expenses and income taxes from the award. Id. at 827. The Fifth District then certified the above two questions. Id. at 827-28.
Generally, appellate courts apply an abuse of discretion standard when reviewing a trial court's determination as to the proper amount of restitution. See Spivey v. State, 531 So.2d 965, 967 (Fla.1988); A.B. v. State, 910 So.2d 415, 417 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005). While this case involves an award of restitution, the only issue presented by the parties is a question of law: whether the relevant statute permits the type of restitution awarded. Accordingly, this question is subject to the de novo standard of review. See Daniels v. Fla. Dep't of Health, 898 So.2d 61, 64 (Fla.2005); D'Angelo v. Fitzmaurice, 863 So.2d 311, 314 (Fla.2003).
Koile first alleges that the district court erred in permitting an award for the victim's lost wages, alleging that section 775.089, Florida Statutes (2003), does not provide for this type of award.1 Section 775.089 states in pertinent part:
(1)(a) In addition to any punishment, the court shall order the defendant to make restitution to the victim for:
unless it finds clear and compelling reasons not to order such restitution. Restitution may be monetary or nonmonetary restitution. The court shall make the payment of restitution a condition of probation in accordance with s. 948.03. . . .
. . . .
(c) The term "victim" as used in this section and in any provision of law relating to restitution means each person who suffers property damage or loss, monetary expense, or physical injury or death as a direct or indirect result of the defendant's offense or criminal episode, and also includes the victim's estate if the victim is deceased, and the victim's next of kin if the victim is deceased as a result of the offense.
(2)(a) When an offense has resulted in bodily injury to a victim, a restitution order entered under subsection (1) shall require that the defendant:
1. Pay the cost of necessary medical and related professional services and devices relating to physical, psychiatric, and psychological care, including nonmedical care and treatment rendered in accordance with a recognized method of healing.
2. Pay the cost of necessary physical and occupational therapy and rehabilitation.
3. Reimburse the victim for income lost by the victim as a result of the offense.
4. In the case of an offense which resulted in bodily injury that also resulted in the death of a victim, pay an amount equal to the cost of necessary funeral and related services.
§ 775.089, Fla. Stat. (2003) (emphasis added).
Before resorting to the rules of statutory interpretation, courts must first look to the actual language of the statute itself. Joshua v. City of Gainesville, 768 So.2d 432, 435 (Fla.2000); accord Bell-South Telecomms., Inc. v. Meeks, 863 So.2d 287, 289 (Fla.2003). As this Court has often repeated:
When the statute is clear and unambiguous, courts will not look behind the statute's plain language for legislative intent or resort to rules of statutory construction to ascertain intent. See Lee County Elec. Coop., Inc. v. Jacobs, 820 So.2d 297, 303 (Fla.2002). In such instance, the statute's plain and ordinary meaning must control, unless this leads to an unreasonable result or a result clearly contrary to legislative intent. See State v. Burris, 875 So.2d 408, 410 (Fla.2004). When the statutory language is clear, "courts have no occasion to resort to rules of construction—they must read the statute as written, for to do otherwise would constitute an abrogation of legislative power." Nicoll v. Baker, 668 So.2d 989, 990-91 (Fla.1996).
Daniels, 898 So.2d at 64-65. However, if the statutory intent is unclear from the plain language of the statute, then "we apply rules of statutory construction and explore legislative history to determine legislative intent." BellSouth Telecomms., Inc., 863 So.2d at 289. Keeping these principles in mind, we turn to the petitioner's arguments.
Koile first asserts that the only expenses specifically...
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