The Court of Appeal held that, because the federal and California constitutions oblige a court to consider ability to pay in determining whether a fine is excessive under the Eighth Amendment or deprives a defendant of due process as explained in People v. Dueñas (2019) 30 Cal.App.5th 1157, the trial court abused its discretion by denying appellant’s request for an ability to pay hearing before imposing a $5,000 restitution fine. The Court further found that the error was not harmless where appellant was deprived of the opportunity to present evidence on ability to pay, had significant debt, was 61 years old when convicted, had COVID-19 on three occasion, and continued to experience lingering symptoms of COVID-19 as of the sentencing hearing.
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