Rules of Evidence Apply to Restitution Hearing

State v. Willis, Minn.S.Ct., 7/12/2017.  This is a restitution case, which asks the question, "Do the rules of evidence apply to restitution hearings."  Both the trial court and the court of appeals said, "No, they don't."  Chief Justice Gildea, Justice McKeig dissenting, said, "Yes, they do."

The answer turns on the interpretation of Rule 1101(b)(3), which excludes the rules of evidence from these hearings:

Proceedings for extradition or rendition; probable cause hearings; sentencing, or granting or revoking probation; issuance of warrants for arrest, criminal summonses, and search warrants; and proceedings with respect to release on bail or otherwise.

Now, not that long ago the supreme court said that the rules of evidence apply to Blakely bench trials.  State v. Sanchez-Sanchez.  Although restitution is part of a "sentencing", State v. Borg, 834 N.W.2d 194 (Minn. 2013), the hearing to which a defendant is entitled when she challenges the amount of restitution is not.