Opinion

McGuffin v. State

  • 76 O.B.A.J. 726
  • 109 P.3d 336
  • 2005 OK 15
  • 2005 Okla. LEXIS 14
Court
Supreme Court of Oklahoma
Filed
Mar 8, 2005
Status
Published
Author
Kauger
On the bench
Colbert, Edmondson, Hargrave, Kauger, Lavender, Opala, Taylor, Watt, Winchester
Cited by
6 cases
Authority
More cited than 22.6%

The opinion

KAUGER, J.,

with whom WATT, C.J. and OPALA, J., join, dissenting.

¶ 11 dissent from the majority’s imposition of restitution liability on a non-custodial parent pursuant to 10 O.S.2001 § 7303 — 5.3(8)(c), 1 The majority uses rules of statutory construction to create an exception not existing in the statutory provision. Only when the legislative intent cannot be ascertained from the statutory language, ie. in cases of ambiguity or conflict, are rules of statutory construction employed. 2 Where a statute’s lan *345 guage is plain and unambiguous and the meaning clear and unmistakable, no justification exists for the use of interpretative devices to fabricate a different meaning. 3 The clear statutory language provides that liability may be imposed on any parent or custodial parent of any child living with the parents or a custodial parent. It does not impose liability upon parents whose children do not reside in the parent’s home.

. Neer v. State ex rel. Oklahoma Tax Comm’n, 1999 OK 41, ¶ 16 , 982 P.2d 1071 ; C.H. Leavell & Co. v. Oklahoma Tax Comm’n, 1968 OK 127, ¶ 16 , 450 P.2d 211 .

. Title 10 O.S. Supp.2002 § 7303-5.3(8)(c) provides in pertinent part:

"... With respect to a child adjudicated a delinquent child, the court may:

... c .... order the parents or custodial parent of any child living with the parents or custodial parent at the time of the criminal or delinquent act of the child to remit the amount of restitution ordered by the court....”

Because the statute was amended in 2002, references are to the current version of the statute.

. Keating v. Edmondson, 2001 OK 110, ¶ 8 , 37 P.3d 882 ; State ex rel. Oklahoma Dept. of Human Serv. v. Colclazier, 1997 OK 134, ¶ 9 , 950 P.2d 824 ; Matter of Estate of Flowers, 1993 OK 19, ¶ 11 , 848 P.2d 1146 .

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

A word about cookies

We need a few to keep you signed in and the library working. The rest help us see which pages people use and where they get stuck. They stay off unless you say yes.