The court erred in imposing a second restitution fine following defendants violation of probation, where a lesser fine had already been imposed at the time of the original grant of probation. The defendant had originally been ordered to pay a $600 restitution fine, but following his violation of probation, the court imposed a new fine of $800. Noting that the Attorney General had “inexplicably” sought to defend the error in spite of routinely conceding the issue for several years, the Third District reaffirmed its holding in People v. Chambers (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 819, in which it held that a trial court has no statutory authority to order a second restitution fine upon revocation of probation, because a restitution fine imposed as a condition of probation remains in force in spite of a subsequent revocation of probation.
Case Summaries