Legal Question in Criminal Law in Minnesota

restitution

my son was involved in a felony with 4 others,, he gave information about the others, he was 17 at the time,,,now there saying restitution shall be joint and several with any co-defendants, for 4210.00 .. does this mean they split the cost of 4210.00? and now he has to testify against one of the other guys,,, can he plead the fifth,, he was served papers about 2 weeks ago for this ,,, any info you can give me would help,,, his probation officer hasn't helped,, and the appointed lawyer won't return my phone calls,,, thank you carol


Asked on 9/07/06, 10:35 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Thomas C. Gallagher Gallagher Criminal Defense

Re: restitution

When co-defendants are ordered to pay restitution in Minnesota, they share that obligation on a "joint and several" basis. You can look that term up in a legal dictionary, online or in print. Basically if two or more people are responsible for paying an obligation on a "joint and several" basis, it means the victim can collect the entire amount from either or both of them. For example, one co-defendant might end up paying it all, then have to sue the other co-defendant in civil court to get reimbursed a fair share.

The topic of when a person can plead the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination is a bit too large to address here. Suffice it to say, that is a person could reasonably expect to be accused of a crime and their testimony could help provide evidence against them, then they can claim the privilege and refuse to testify. It is best to have a lawyer help assert the witness's privilege. He should discuss this with his lawyer.

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Answered on 9/07/06, 12:29 pm


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