Today the Ninth Circuit handed down an interesting opinion on restitution, confirming that criminal defendants can agree to pay expansive restitution beyond what is required by the crimes of conviction. Interpreting the general federal restitution statute–18 U.S.C. § 3663–the Ninth Circuit explained that Congress has granted district courts statutory authority to award restitution to the extent agreed to by the parties in a plea agreement. I argued this case for a sex trafficking victim ("Jane Doe")–along with my friends at Justice at Last, an excellent non-profit organization helping labor and sex trafficking victims. The Ninth Circuit's opinion discusses several important issues in crime victims' rights, which are worth briefly highlighting.
The case involves a defendant, who kidnapped Jane Doe, then twelve years old. The defendant drove her from California to Nevada to sexually exploit her. Eventually Jane Doe was able to alert authorities, and police arrested the defendant. Federal prosecutors indicted him for sex trafficking. Following lengthy plea discussions, the defendant entered into a written plea agreement. Under the agreement, in exchange for the government's promise to drop the sex trafficking charges, he pleaded guilty to two lesser crimes (interstate travel in aid of unlawful activity) and agreed to pay Jane Doe full restitution.
The plea agreement provided that "[t]he Defendant acknowledges that the conduct to which he is entering a plea … gives rise to mandatory restitution to the victim(s). See 18 U.S.C. § 2259. The Defendant agrees that for the purpose of assessing such restitution, the Court may consider losses derived from the counts of conviction as well as losses caused from dismissed counts and uncharged conduct in which the Defendant has been involved. The Defendant agrees to pay the victim(s) the 'full amount of the victim's losses' as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 2259(b)(3)."
