Opinion ID: 544332
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Fines, Restitution and Attorney's Fees.

Text: 18 As demonstrated above, section 3583 and Guidelines Sec. 7A1.3 delineate all of the alternatives a court has when a person violates a condition of his supervised release. None of those alternatives includes restitution or a fine. A district court is permitted to impose restitution or a fine at the time a defendant is sentenced. See 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3556 (restitution) and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3572 (fines). However, the revocation of supervised release is not the same thing as a sentencing for a conviction. The government did not charge Shayesteh with any new crime but arrested him for violating a condition of his supervised release. There is no statute that authorizes a court to impose restitution or a fine in order to punish a person for violating a condition of supervised release. Compare 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3565 (when probation revoked a court may impose fine and restitution as long as those options were available at time of original sentencing). 19 However, the district court did have authority to order Shayesteh to pay for his court-appointed attorney. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3006A(f). Section 3006A sets out the requirements for appointing counsel in proceedings regarding violations of supervised release. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3006A(a)(1)(E). The section also permits a court to order a defendant to repay the government for appointed counsel. Before the court orders repayment, it must find[ ] that funds are available for payment from or on behalf of a person furnished representation. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3006A(f); see also United States v. Seminole, 882 F.2d 441, 443 (9th Cir.1989) (district court must make finding that funds are available). 20 Shayesteh argues that a court must make an explicit finding on the record that a defendant has funds available that he could use to pay for a court-appointed attorney. The Second Circuit follows such an approach. United States v. Bracewell, 569 F.2d 1194, 1197 (2d Cir.1978) (district court is obliged ... to make a finding on the record that funds are available). On the other hand, the Seventh Circuit has stated that it will uphold a repayment order under section 3006A when a district court has not made a specific finding of available funds if there is sufficient evidence to support the court's decision and the defendant did not object to that evidence. United States v. Gurtunca, 836 F.2d 283, 288 (7th Cir.1987). 21 We are persuaded by the Seventh Circuit's approach, especially since the facts in Gurtunca are very similar to the facts in this case. In Gurtunca, the defendant's presentence report detailed the defendant's financial resources. Gurtunca did not object to any information in the presentence report nor did he attempt to qualify or explain the information. The court found that the circumstances did not require it to vacate the order to pay attorney's fees. 836 F.2d at 288. 22 Here, Shayesteh initially indicated that a $15,000 bank account belonged to his father. However, the government then prepared a report that traced all of the deposits to the account and showed that the source of the deposits were from Shayesteh's earlier securities fraud. Shayesteh did not object to the government's report nor did he attempt to explain or qualify the government's findings. Therefore, we will not set aside the district court's order to pay attorney's fees even though the court neglected to make a specific finding of fact on the record.