California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Shantal House, B212057 (Cal. App. 2013):
Appellant has failed to establish that the amounts of the fines were arbitrary, capricious, or exceeded the bounds of reason. (People v. Maheshwari, supra, 107 Cal.App.4th at p. 1409.) Although the trial court did not articulate its reasons for the amounts of the fines, the record indicates that the court could have taken into account factors such as "the seriousness and gravity of the offense and the circumstances of its commission, any economic gain derived by the defendant as a result of the crime, the extent to which any other person suffered any losses as a result of the crime, and the number of victims involved in the crime." (Pen. Code, 1202.4, subd. (d).) Appellant certainly derived economic gain from her offenses, and she caused large financial losses to several victims. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in imposing the restitution fines.
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