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AN ACT To control crime by mandatory victim restitution.
Passed the House of Representatives February 7, 1995.

104th CONGRESS 1st Session

AN ACT To control crime by mandatory victim restitution.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the 'Victim Restitution Act of 1995'.

SEC. 2. MANDATORY RESTITUTION AND OTHER PROVISIONS. (a) Order of Restitution: Section 3663 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking 'may order, in addition to or, in the case of a misdemeanor, in lieu of any other penalty authorized by law' and inserting 'shall order'; and (ii) by adding at the end the following: 'The requirement of this paragraph does not affect the power of the court to impose any other penalty authorized by law. In the case of a misdemeanor, the court may impose restitution in lieu of any other penalty authorized by law.';

(B) by adding at the end the following:
'(4) In addition to ordering restitution to the victim of the offense of which a defendant is convicted, a court may order restitution to any person who, as shown by a preponderance of evidence, was harmed physically, emotionally, or pecuniarily, by unlawful conduct of the defendant during--
'(A) the criminal episode during which the offense occurred; or
'(B) the course of a scheme, conspiracy, or pattern of unlawful activity related to the offense.';

(2) in subsection (b)(1)(B) by striking 'impractical' and inserting 'impracticable';

(3) in subsection (b)(2) by inserting 'emotional or' after 'resulting in';

(4) in subsection (b)--
(A) by striking 'and' at the end of paragraph (4);
(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new paragraph:
'(5) in any case, reimburse the victim for lost income and necessary child care, transportation, and other expenses related to participation in the investigation or prosecution of the offense or attendance at proceedings related to the offense; and';

(5) in subsection (c) by striking 'If the court decides to order restitution under this section, the' and inserting 'The';
(6) by striking subsections (d), (e), (f), (g), and (h);
(7) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection (m); and
(8) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
'(d)(1) The court shall order restitution to a victim in the full amount of the victim's losses as determined by the court and without consideration of--
'(A) the economic circumstances of the offender; or
'(B) the fact that a victim has received or is entitled to receive compensation with respect to a loss from insurance or any other source.
'(2) Upon determination of the amount of restitution owed to each victim, the court shall specify in the restitution order the manner in which and the schedule according to which the restitution is to be paid, in consideration of--
'(A) the financial resources and other assets of the offender;
'(B) projected earnings and other income of the offender; and
'(C) any financial obligations of the offender, including obligations to dependents.

'(3) A restitution order may direct the offender to make a single, lump-sum payment, partial payment at specified intervals, or such in-kind payments as may be agreeable to the victim and the offender. A restitution order shall direct the offender to give appropriate notice to victims and other persons in cases where there are multiple victims or other persons who may receive restitution, and where the identity of such victims and other persons can be reasonably determined.
'(4) An in-kind payment described in paragraph (3) may be in the form of--
'(A) return of property;
'(B) replacement of property; or
'(C) services rendered to the victim or to a person or organization other than the victim.

'(e) When the court finds that more than 1 offender has contributed to the loss of a victim, the court may make each offender liable for payment of the full amount of restitution or may apportion liability among the offenders to reflect the level of contribution and economic circumstances of each offender.

'(f) When the court finds that more than 1 victim has sustained a loss requiring restitution by an offender, the court shall order full restitution to each victim but may provide for different payment schedules to reflect the economic circumstances of each victim.

'(g)(1) If the victim has received or is entitled to receive compensation with respect to a loss from insurance or any other source, the court shall order that restitution be paid to the person who provided or is obligated to provide the compensation, but the restitution order shall provide that all restitution to victims required by the order be paid to the victims before any restitution is paid to such a provider of compensation.

'(2) The issuance of a restitution order shall not affect the entitlement of a victim to receive compensation with respect to a loss from insurance or any other source until the payments actually received by the victim under the restitution order fully compensate the victim for the loss, at which time a person that has provided compensation to the victim shall be entitled to receive any payments remaining to be paid under the restitution order.

'(3) Any amount paid to a victim under an order of restitution shall be set off against any amount later recovered as compensatory damages by the victim in--
'(A) any Federal civil proceeding; and
'(B) any State civil proceeding, to the extent provided by the law of the State.

'(h) A restitution order shall provide that--
'(1) all fines, penalties, costs, restitution payments and other forms of transfers of money or property made pursuant to the sentence of the court shall be made by the offender to an entity designated by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts for accounting and payment by the entity in accordance with this subsection;
'(2) the entity designated by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts shall--
'(A) log all transfers in a manner that tracks the offender's obligations and the current status in meeting those obligations, unless, after efforts have been made to enforce the restitution order and it appears that compliance cannot be obtained, the court determines that continued recordkeeping under this subparagraph would not be useful; and
'(B) notify the court and the interested parties when anoffender is 30 days in arrears in meeting those obligations; and
'(3) the offender shall advise the entity designated by the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts of any change in the offender's address during the term of the restitution order.

'(i) A restitution order shall constitute a lien against all property of the offender and may be recorded in any Federal or State office for the recording of liens against real or personal property.

'(j) Compliance with the schedule of payment and other terms of a restitution order shall be a condition of any probation, parole, or other form of release of an offender. If a defendant fails to comply with a restitution order, the court may revoke probation or a term of supervised release, modify the term or conditions of probation or a term of supervised release, hold the defendant in contempt of court, enter a restraining order or injunction, order the sale of property of the defendant, accept a performance bond, or take any other action necessary to obtain compliance with the restitution order. In determining what action to take, the court shall consider the defendant's employment status, earning ability, financial resources, the willfulness in failing to comply with the restitution order, and any other circumstances that may have a bearing on the defendant's ability to comply with the restitution order.

'(k) An order of restitution may be enforced--
'(1) by the United States--
'(A) in the manner provided for the collection and payment of fines in subchapter B of chapter 229 of this title; or
'(B) in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action; and
'(2) by a victim named in the order to receive the restitution, in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action.

'(l) A victim or the offender may petition the court at any time to modify a restitution order as appropriate in view of a change in the economic circumstances of the offender.'. (b) Procedure for Issuing Order of Restitution: Section 3664 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (a);
(2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) as subsections (a), (b), (c), and (d);
(3) by amending subsection (a), as redesignated by paragraph (2), to read as follows:
'(a) The court may order the probation service of the court to obtain information pertaining to the amount of loss sustained by any victim as a result of the offense, the financial resources of the defendant, the financial needs and earning ability of the defendant and the defendant's dependents, and such other factors as the court deems appropriate. The probation service of the court shall include the information collected in the report of presentence investigation or in a separate report, as the court directs.'; and (4) by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection:

'(e) The court may refer any issue arising in connection with a proposed order of restitution to a magistrate or special master for proposed findings of fact and recommendations as to disposition, subject to a de novo determination of the issue by the court.'.

Passed the House of Representatives February 7, 1995.
Attest: Clerk.

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