State v. Holmberg, 88-1825

Decision Date20 December 1989
Docket NumberNo. 88-1825,88-1825
Citation449 N.W.2d 376
PartiesSTATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Timothy HOLMBERG, Appellant.
CourtIowa Supreme Court

David A. O'Brien of O'Brien, Galvin & Kuehl, Sioux City, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Atty. Gen., Mark Joel Zbieroski, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Thomas S. Mullen, County Atty., for appellee.

Considered by McGIVERIN, C.J., and HARRIS, LARSON, SCHULTZ, and ANDREASEN, JJ.

HARRIS, Justice.

The challenge here is to the trial court's order of victim restitution. The defendant complains that the order exceeded his involvement in a computer theft and therefore exceeded the trial court's authority. While we disagree with the defendant's assessment of a sentencing court's authority under the restitution chapter, we do agree that the authority was exceeded here. We reverse and remand.

Defendant Timothy Holmberg was charged with computer theft in the first degree by making unauthorized use of the victim's phone lines. First-degree computer theft is defined as one resulting "in a loss of services or property of more than $5000." Iowa Code § 716A.10 (1987). Holmberg is a twenty-three-year-old who lives at home with his parents. He is trained and skilled as a computer programmer and operator. He keeps a computer in his room at home, often accessing other computers for information and computer games.

He did not plead guilty to first-degree computer theft. Rather, in accordance with a plea bargain, he entered his plea to computer theft in the third degree. Iowa Code § 716A.12 (more than $100 but not more than $500). The lesser plea was accepted and a restitution hearing was held.

At the restitution hearing the defendant admitted accessing the victim "80 to 100 times," but specifically denied accessing anywhere nearly so often as claimed by the victim. The trial court ordered the payment of $12,603.27 in restitution, the amount asserted by the victim.

I. Except for motor vehicle violations under Iowa Code chapter 321, an Iowa statute requires restitution in all criminal cases where guilt is established. Iowa Code § 910.2. Section 910.1(4) defines "restitution" as:

payment of pecuniary damages to a victim in an amount and in the manner provided by the offender's plan of restitution. Restitution shall also include the payment of court costs, court-appointed attorney's fees or the expense of a public defender, and the performance of a public service by an offender in an amount set by the court when the offender cannot reasonably pay all or part of the court costs, court-appointed attorney's fees or the expense of a public defender.

Section 910.1(2) defines "pecuniary damages" as:

All damages to the extent not paid by an insurer, which a victim could recover against the offender in a civil action arising out of the same facts or event, except punitive damages and damages for pain, suffering, mental anguish, and loss of consortium. Without limitation, "pecuniary damages" includes damages for wrongful death.

In State v. Zaruba, 306 N.W.2d 772 (Iowa 1981), we held that a drug trafficker could not be required to make restitution to the state for monies used to purchase drugs for those crimes on which he was acquitted. Id. at 775.

We also interpreted the restitution statute in State v. Starkey, 437 N.W.2d 573 (Iowa 1989). We held that a restitution order must rest on a causal connection between the established criminal act and the injuries to the victim. When this is established, the statute allows recovery of "all damages" (with exceptions not involved here) which the State can show by a preponderance of the evidence. Id. at 574. We think our review of a sentencing court's findings should be on error.

Defendant argues that the restitution order must be limited by the parameters of the offense to which he entered his guilty plea, in this case $500. This view is at odds with our holdings in both Zaruba and Starkey. Under these cases the order can be extended to any amount which would be appropriate for tort recovery. 1

We thus agree in general with the State's views on a sentencing court's authority to order restitution. We nevertheless find authority was lacking for the restitution order entered against this defendant. This is because there was insufficient proof of Holmberg's involvement in any amount in excess of the $500 he admitted in his...

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23 cases
  • State v. Shears, 16-1665
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Iowa
    • November 30, 2018
    ...See Jenkins , 788 N.W.2d at 643 (stating that restitution under Iowa Code chapter 910 is a "criminal sanction"); State v. Holmberg , 449 N.W.2d 376, 377 n.1 (Iowa 1989) (noting tort and criminal purposes). As a result, criminal restitution obligations have been held nondischargeable in bank......
  • State v. Bonstetter
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Iowa
    • December 19, 2001
    ...the district court must find a causal connection between the established criminal act and the injuries to the victim. State v. Holmberg, 449 N.W.2d 376, 377 (Iowa 1989). The damage must have been caused by the offender's criminal act to justify the restitution order. Ihde, 532 N.W.2d at 829......
  • State v. Hagen, 12–1542.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Iowa
    • November 22, 2013
    ...defendant is ultimately convicted. Bonstetter, 637 N.W.2d at 165;Earnest v. State, 508 N.W.2d 630, 633 (Iowa 1993); State v. Holmberg, 449 N.W.2d 376, 377 (Iowa 1989); State v. Starkey, 437 N.W.2d 573, 574 (Iowa 1989). This court has not had the opportunity to explore specifically whether t......
  • Teggatz v. Ringleb, 98-1149.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Iowa
    • April 26, 2000
    ...limits the amount of restitution that may be ordered); accord Earnest v. State, 508 N.W.2d 630, 633 (Iowa 1993); State v. Holmberg, 449 N.W.2d 376, 377 (Iowa 1989). Additionally, we have held that a validly entered and accepted guilty plea precludes a criminal defendant from relitigating es......
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