Opinion ID: 2589
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The MVRA in Context

Text: When Congress enacted the MVRA, it was adding to a statutory sentencing structure in which restitution had only recently begun to play a prominent role. See S.Rep. No. 104-179, at 12-14, 1996 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 925-27. Restitution has deep roots in the common law, but it was not until the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982 (VWPA), Pub.L. No. 97-291, 96 Stat. 1248 (1982), that Congress first gave the federal district courts general statutory authority to order restitution as part of a criminal sentence outside of the probation context. See S.Rep. No. 97-532, at 30 (1982), as reprinted in 1982 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2515, 2536; see also United States v. Brown, 744 F.2d 905, 910 (2d Cir.1984) (discussing restitution's common law roots). The exercise of this authority under the VWPA is discretionary, and the act lists the particular types of restitution that may be considered. See VWPA § 5, 96 Stat. at 1253-55 (currently codified, as amended, at 18 U.S.C. § 3663). In 1994 Congress added to the list 18 U.S.C. § 3663(b)(4), which provides that restitution orders may be used to 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. Violence Against Women Act of 1994, Pub.L. No. 103-322, Title IV, § 40504, 108 Stat. 1796, 1947 (1994). The MVRA built on this structure by making restitution a mandatory part of the sentences imposed for certain categories of offenses. See MVRA § 202, 110 Stat. at 1227 (codified at 18 U.S.C. § 3556). The VWPA's discretionary restitution provisions (as amended over the years) remain in 18 U.S.C. § 3663, but the MVRA added, among other things, a set of mandatory provisions in 18 U.S.C. § 3663A. See MVRA § 204, 110 Stat. at 1227-29. One of these mandatory provisions, 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b)(4), parallels nearly verbatim the discretionary provision quoted above. It requires district courts to reimburse the victim for lost income and necessary child care, transportation, and other expenses incurred during participation in the investigation or prosecution of the offense or attendance at proceedings related to the offense. 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b)(4).