When the court orders a defendant to make financial restitution to the victim of a crime of which the defendant has been convicted or to which the defendant has pleaded guilty or nolo contendere, a civil judgment shall automatically be entered by the trial court against the defendant on behalf of the victim for that amount. If payment is not made by the defendant within the period set by the court, the civil judgment for the amount of the restitution ordered, plus interest at the statutory amount from the date of the offense, plus costs of suit, including reasonable attorney's fees, shall be enforceable by any and all means presently available in law for the collection of delinquent judgments in civil cases generally.
History of Section.
P.L. 1986, ch. 405, § 2.