State v. Benton

Defendant appeals from a judgment finding him guilty of contempt for wilful failure to pay restitution and ordering him to serve three days in jail. ORS 161.685.1 The Court of Appeals concluded that the statute authorized only civil contempt and that the trial court’s penalty was criminal because the court sentenced defendant to a determinate sentence of imprisonment with no provision for release if he paid the restitution. The court held that the determinate sentence imposed by the trial court was not authorized by ORS 161.685. State v. Benton, 101 Or App 386, 790 P2d 1191, adhered to on…