California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Reid, H036156 (Cal. App. 2011):
"As a practical matter, an appellate court's consideration of a claim that a trial court abused its discretion in awarding restitution because the lower court applied an incorrect legal standard is tantamount to independent or de novo review." (People v. Brunette (2011) 194 Cal.App.4th 268, 276.) "Accordingly, the standard of an appellate court's review of the ultimate question when the legal basis for a restitution award is under challenge is de novo or independent review. To summarize, in such circumstances we apply the abuse-of-discretion standard to the trial court's determination of predominantly factual matters regarding restitution and independent review to the legality of the restitution award in light of the applicable statutes and any relevant decisional law." (Id. at p. 277.)
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