An Arizona court has overturned as unconstitutional a state law setting a $10,000 cap on criminal restitution for certain driving offenses.
The Arizona Court of Appeals ruling Tuesday says the law applying to criminal offenses for moving violations causing serious physical injury or death violates the Victims' Bill of Rights in the Arizona Constitution.
The ruling reverses a Maricopa County Superior Court judge's ruling that reduced a man's restitution order at $10,000, down from the over $61,000 amount set by a Phoenix Municipal Court judge.
The ruling says Arizona law generally requires a person convicted of a crime to pay the victim the full amount of the victim's economic loss but that the law enacted in 2006 on restitution for cases involving certain criminal moving violations included the $10,000 cap.