February 1, 2022
Elisabeth.Shepard@mcda.us
Elisabeth Shepard, Communications Director
DA Mike Schmidt administration testifies in support of victim restitution for individuals, businesses
PORTLAND, Oregon – Today, Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office (MCDA) Policy Director Aaron Knott provided testimony in the Oregon State House Committee on Judiciary in favor of proposed legislation that would reduce barriers to victims seeking repayment for damages caused as a result of a crime, or restitution.
HB 4075 applies to individual crime victims as well as businesses. For instance, if a business is burglarized, this legislation would ease the path to reimbursement for a broken window, lock, register, and other damages that occur as a result of a break-in. Likewise, the bill would help ensure that individual victims of, for example, an assault wherein the victim sustains an injury would have an easier time having their medical expenses paid for.
The bill achieves these ends in multiple ways. It presumes that receipts and other documentation provided by the victim for repayment is sufficient absent an objection from the defense which must specify the reasoning for the objection. It elevates restitution in priority of repayment above other court fines and fees, making sure that victims are paid first. Finally, the bill dedicates 50% of any claims awarded to insurance companies to the Crime Victims Compensation account, where the monies collected will be reinvested in providing core services to the victims of crime.
“The legal principle that a person is entitled to compensation for any damages that they suffer due to another person’s unlawful conduct is as old as law itself,” MCDA Policy Director Aaron Knott stated.
“In Oregon, for the victims of crime, this right to be compensated for your loss is written into our state constitution as a core and fundamental right that all crime victims possess, coequal with the right to be notified and the right to be heard.” Knott went on.
The bill has received its first public hearing and remains under consideration in the Oregon State House Committee on Judiciary.
View full hearing by clicking here.
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