Opinion ID: 441742
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: constitutionality of the vwpa

Text: 20 The district court declared sections 3579 and 3580 of the Act unconstitutional on their face under the seventh, fifth and fourteenth amendments. We address each in turn.
21 The seventh amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial in suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars. U.S. Const. amend. VII. The district court held that the restitution statute violates this amendment by creating a civil action at common law without giving either the victim or the defendant the opportunity to have the defendant's restitution liability determined by a jury. In so holding, the court was persuaded that the collateral estoppel and civil enforcement provisions of the Act converted an otherwise criminal sentencing hearing into a civil proceeding. 5 22 The characterization of a penalty as civil or criminal is a question of legislative intent. United States v. Ward, 448 U.S. 242, 248, 100 S.Ct. 2636, 2641, 65 L.Ed.2d 742 (1980). In drafting the restitution provisions of the VWPA, Congress made clear in both the language of the statute and its accompanying legislative history that victim restitution would be imposed as a criminal, rather than civil, penalty. Subsection 3579(a)(1) allows the court to order restitution in addition to or in lieu of any other penalty authorized by law as part of the sentencing of a defendant. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3579(a)(1). 23 Consistent with this characterization of restitution as part of a criminal sentence are subsections 3580(a) and (b), which incorporate the restitution order into the traditional sentencing role of the court. Under subsection 3580(a), the court can order restitution only after it considers the financial resources of the defendant, his earning ability and the financial needs of his dependents. These considerations, which help tailor restitution to the individuality of the defendant, are vital to the rehabilitation goals of sentencing, 6 but generally are not relevant in determining the amount of damages awarded in a civil case. Subsection 3580(b) authorizes the court to order its probation service to prepare and submit, as part of its presentence report, information pertaining to the loss of the victim and the financial status of the defendant. Congress' decision to involve the probation service in the development of the facts supporting a restitution order further reveals an intent to treat restitution as one of the options available to the district court in imposing an appropriate sentence. 7 24 The legislative history of the VWPA reenforces our conclusion that Congress intended to make restitution an element of the criminal sentencing process and not an independent action civil in nature. The history is replete with references to restitution as part of the criminal sentence. See, e.g., S.Rep.No. 532, 97th Cong., 2d Sess. 30, reprinted in 1982 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 2515, 2536 (restitution ... lost its priority status in the sentencing procedures of our federal courts long ago); id. at 32, reprinted in 1982 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 2515, 2538 (permitting its use in conjunction with imprisonment, fine, suspended sentence, or other sentence imposed by the court); 128 Cong.Rec. H8467 (daily ed. Oct. 1, 1982) (statement of Representative McCollum) (Restitution would become a sentence that could, in and of itself, be imposed.... This legislation does not intend that restitution become a substitute for civil damages ....). 8 See also United States v. Richard, 738 F.2d 1120 at 1122 (10th Cir.1984) (order of restitution under sections 3579 and 3580 is a part of the sentencing process). 25 There can be little doubt that Congress intended the restitution penalties of the VWPA to be incorporated into the traditional sentencing structure. Despite this demonstrated legislative intent, however, the district court held that by including a civil enforcement mechanism and a collateral estoppel provision in the statute Congress did not implement its scheme in a constitutional manner and essentially created a hybrid proceeding having sufficient civil action characteristics to trigger the protections of the seventh amendment. We do not agree.
Subsection 3580(e) of the VWPA provides: 26 A conviction of a defendant for an offense involving the act giving rise to restitution under this section shall estop the defendant from denying the essential allegations of that offense in any subsequent Federal civil proceeding or State civil proceeding, to the extent consistent with the State law, brought by the victim. 27 The district court held that a hearing having collateral estoppel effects must be construed as the equivalent of a suit at common law. The court understood section 3580(e) as necessarily giving collateral estoppel effect in subsequent civil actions to all of the facts underlying a restitution order. Were we to follow this interpretation, we might agree that the restitution order has the characteristics of a civil judgment, but we do not read the Act so broadly. The section merely states that a conviction of a defendant for an offense giving rise to a restitution order shall estop the defendant from denying the essential allegations of that offense  in a subsequent civil proceeding. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3580(e) (emphasis added). The defendant is barred from challenging in a later proceeding only those facts underlying the criminal offense that were necessarily decided by the jury's verdict. The Act's collateral estoppel provision would not apply to those facts supporting the restitution order--e.g., the extent and nature of the victim's injury or the value of damaged property--that were not part of the essential allegations underlying the criminal conviction. 28 Subsection 3580(e) does no more than codify the rule in this and other circuits that a criminal conviction may be used as conclusive proof of some issues in a subsequent civil litigation. See, e.g., Raiford v. Abney, 695 F.2d 521, 523 (11th Cir.1983); United States v. Podell, 572 F.2d 31, 35 (2d Cir.1978). Under this doctrine of collateral estoppel, a party is precluded from litigating an issue only if the identical issue has been actually litigated in a prior suit that could not have been decided without resolving the issue. Precision Air Parts, Inc. v. Avco Corp., 736 F.2d 1499, 1501-02 (11th Cir.1984). What issues were actually litigated in the criminal proceeding is a factual question that must be determined on a case-by-case basis. Id. at 1502. Subsection 3580(e) does not expand this rule. The facts underlying a criminal offense that gives rise to a restitution order will be given collateral estoppel effect only if they were fully and fairly litigated at the criminal trial, or stipulated through a guilty plea. See Raiford, 695 F.2d at 523 (guilty plea given same collateral estoppel effect as any other criminal convictions; plea of nolo contendere distinguished). The collateral estoppel provision of the VWPA does not contravene congressional intent, convert the restitution aspect of the sentencing hearing into a civil proceeding, or deny the defendant his right to a jury trial under the seventh amendment.
Subsection 3579(h) provides: 29 An order of restitution may be enforced by United States or a victim named in the order to receive the restitution in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action. 30 The district court did not explain why this procedure for enforcing a restitution order transforms the criminal sentencing hearing into an action at common law. The provision simply makes the civil judgment enforcement mechanism available to the United States or the victim following an order of restitution. 31 In enacting the VWPA, Congress wanted to ensure that victims of crime would be restored to their prior state of well-being. S.Rep. No. 532, 97th Cong., 2d Sess. 30, reprinted in 1982 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 2536. This goal would be accomplished only if victims were assured of recovering the restitution awarded by the court. Aware that restitution awards under the Probation Act, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3651, were infrequently used and indifferently enforced, Congress enacted subsection 3579(h) to remedy this problem and facilitate the collection process. S.Rep. No. 532, 97th Cong., 2d Sess. 30, reprinted in 1982 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 2536. 32 Civil enforcement of criminal penalties is not a new concept. Section 3565 of Title 18 already gives the United States the right to collect a criminal penalty by execution against the property of the defendant in like manner as judgments in civil cases. Under both section 3565 and subsection 3579(h), the Government may employ the enforcement procedures of Fed.R.Civ.P. 64 and 69(a) to collect criminal penalties. See United States v. Thornton, 672 F.2d 101 (D.C.Cir.1982); S.Rep. No. 532, 97th Cong., 2d Sess. 33, reprinted in 1982 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 2539. The VWPA merely extends this right to the victims themselves. The inclusion of this civil enforcement provision does not transform the restitution order into an action at common law. 9
33 The district court held that the VWPA did not provide the sentencing judge with sufficiently ascertainable standards to comply with the due process requirements of fairness and non-arbitrary exercise of power. In an exhaustive review of the VWPA, the court found fault in the statute's failure to address dozens of potentially troublesome issues such as the standard for admissibility of evidence, the possible applicability of discovery procedures, and the requirements for ensuring adequate notice to the defendant. The possibility that due process violations will occur in particular cases in the future, however, does not render the statute unconstitutional on its face. 34 We agree with the district court's observation that the statute is written in general terms and creates many questions the courts will have to answer. 10 The statute presents unresolved questions affecting the defendant's ability to obtain prior notice of his potential restitution liability and his right to contest the facts supporting that liability before the award is made. Appellants specifically question the adequacy of the procedural safeguards at the sentencing phase, 11 where the Act provides few standards governing the procedures to be used for determining the restitution owing the victim or the ability of the defendant to pay. For instance, the statute does not prohibit the use of hearsay evidence and is silent on the defendant's right, if any, to cross-examine or call his own witnesses. 12 35 In assessing the effect of these shortcomings of the VWPA on the fifth amendment rights of the defendant, we begin with the basic proposition that due process assures the defendant he will be given adequate notice and an opportunity to contest the facts relied upon to support his criminal penalty. See Townsend v. Burke, 334 U.S. 736, 741, 68 S.Ct. 1252, 1255, 92 L.Ed. 1690 (1948). It is now well settled that the sentencing process as well as the trial itself must satisfy these requirements. See Shelton v. United States, 497 F.2d 156, 159 (5th Cir.1974). The defendant need not, however, be accorded the same degree of due process protections during the sentencing phase as was required at the criminal trial. United States v. Stephens, 699 F.2d 534, 537 (11th Cir.1983). Cf. Proffitt v. Wainwright, 685 F.2d 1227, 1254-55 (11th Cir.1982) (due process protections greater at capital sentencing than at noncapital), mod. on reh'g, 706 F.2d 311 (11th Cir.1983), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 508, 78 L.Ed.2d 697 (1984). The sole interest being protected is the right not to be sentenced on the basis of invalid premises or inaccurate information. United States v. Hodges, 556 F.2d 366, 369 (5th Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1016, 98 S.Ct. 735, 54 L.Ed.2d 762 (1978). Because the sentencing procedure is not a trial, courts have limited this right in order to prevent the sentencing hearing from becoming a full-scale evidentiary hearing. Stephens, 699 F.2d at 537; United States v. Espinoza, 481 F.2d 553 (5th Cir.1973). The degree of protection required is only that which is necessary to ensure that the district court is sufficiently informed to enable it to exercise its sentencing discretion in an enlightened manner. Stephens, 699 F.2d at 537. 36 Although we believe it is possible for a defendant in a particular case to have his right to a fair sentencing hearing violated by the arbitrary imposition of restitution, we conclude that the VWPA, together with the dictates of Rule 32, contains sufficient safeguards to ensure that a sentencing judge, exercising appropriate discretion, will award restitution based on accurate facts and premises. The Act supplies the basic framework for determining the amount of restitution. Subsection 3580(a) provides that before ordering restitution the court must consider the amount of loss sustained by the victims, the financial condition of the defendants, and any other factors the court deems appropriate. The Act places the burden on the Government to prove by a preponderance of the evidence the amount of loss resulting from the offense; the defendant must demonstrate the financial needs of himself and his dependents by the same standard. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3580(d). Although the only reference to the source of this relevant information is found at subsection 3580(b), which authorizes the court to order the Probation Service to prepare a victim impact statement as part of the presentence report, nothing in the statute prevents the court from hearing testimony or receiving other evidence relevant to its inquiry. Rule 32(a)(1)(C) creates additional procedural protection by assuring the defendant the opportunity to make a statement in his own behalf and to present any information in mitigation of punishment. 37 Although a noncapital defendant does not have a constitutional right to call and cross-examine witnesses to rebut information contained in the presentence report, United States v. Ashley, 555 F.2d 462, 466 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 869, 98 S.Ct. 210, 54 L.Ed.2d 147 (1977), Rule 32(c)(3)(A) gives him the right to comment on the report and correct any alleged factual inaccuracies contained in it. The right to rebut information contained in a presentence report also has been expressly recognized in the courts. See United States v. Aguero-Segovia, 622 F.2d 131, 132 (5th Cir.1980). This right is especially important when, as is likely in the context of restitution, a sentencing judge explicitly relies on certain information in setting a sentence. Espinoza, 481 F.2d at 556. The defendant facing restitution is further protected by Rule 32(c)(3)(D), which requires the trial court to make a factual finding on the record if the defendant challenges the accuracy of the information contained in the presentence report and relied upon by the sentencing judge. This rule presumably will apply to the victim impact statement as well. This should facilitate appellate review and help ensure that the sentence will not be based on inaccurate facts. If the rights delineated in Rule 32 are enforced by the sentencing judge, the defendant should be afforded timely notice and an opportunity to respond to the statements made in that report. 38 Addressing the many other concerns of the district court, we conclude only that the VWPA and Rule 32 provide a sentencing judge with the basic tools necessary to award restitution constituting fair compensation to the victim while protecting the rights of the defendant. Congress wisely has determined that the court should be provided some flexibility in determining the kind of restitution which would both satisfy the victim and provide maximum rehabilitative incentives to the offender. S.Rep. No. 532, 97th Cong., 2d Sess. 32, reprinted in 1982 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 2538. The sentencing judge should be given wide discretion to individualize the sentence to suit the defendant's character, social history, and other peculiarities of the case, 13 and the statute was drafted without unduly inhibiting that freedom. The guidelines provided in the VWPA are more extensive and specific than any appearing in the restitution provision of the Probation Act, 14 which judges have been applying for years. As with any newly-enacted legislation, the courts will have to resolve many questions of interpretation, some of which have been foreshadowed by the district court in this case; but this lack of precision does not render the statute constitutionally deficient under the due process clause.
39 The district court also declared the restitution provisions of the VWPA unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the fourteenth amendment. In the course of its discussion of various constitutional principles, the court raised two concerns that could be characterized as implicating the guarantee that no individual shall be denied equal protection of the laws. Neither of these concerns supports the court's conclusion that the statute is unconstitutional on its face. 40 The court first held that the lack of ascertainable standards in the Act would result in such widely disparate sentences imposed by the various district courts that offenders necessarily would not be treated equally. Even if the court's premise is correct, disparate treatment of similarly situated individuals at sentencing is not constitutionally impermissible. The Supreme Court has recognized that the Constitution permits qualitative differences in meting out punishment and there is no requirement that two persons convicted of the same offense receive identical sentences. Williams v. Illinois, 399 U.S. 235, 90 S.Ct. 2018, 2023, 26 L.Ed.2d 586 (1970). A sentencing authority must be given wide latitude in fixing the punishment for convicted offenders. The VWPA encourages individualized sentencing by directing the court to fix a restitution award based on the particular injuries inflicted on the victim and the financial needs of the defendant and his family. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3580(a). When this discretion is carefully exercised, disparate results must be expected. The likelihood of disparate awards provides no basis for invalidating the statute. 41 The second equal protection issue raised below requires a construction of subsection 3579(g), which provides: 42 If such defendant is placed on probation or parole under this title, any restitution ordered under this section shall be a condition of such probation or parole. The court may revoke probation and the Parole Commission may revoke parole if the defendant fails to comply with such order. In determining whether to revoke probation or parole, the court or Parole Commission shall consider the defendant's employment status, earning ability, financial resources, the willfulness of the defendant's failure to pay, and any other special circumstances that may have a bearing on the defendant's ability to pay. 43 This provision authorizes revocation of parole or probation if the defendant fails to comply with the restitution order. The only conditions the revoking body is required to consider are the defendant's willfulness in failing to satisfy the order, his financial ability to pay and any other circumstances that might affect his ability to comply. The question arises whether this subsection must be held unconstitutional in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Bearden v. Georgia, 461 U.S. 660, 103 S.Ct. 2064, 76 L.Ed.2d 221 (1983). In Bearden, which was decided after the enactment of the VWPA but which concerned revocation of probation for failure to pay a fine and restitution ordered by a state court, the Court held that if a probationer has made all reasonable efforts to pay the fine or restitution, yet cannot do so through no fault of his own, it is fundamentally unfair to revoke probation automatically without considering whether alternative methods of punishing the defendant are available. 15 Id. 461 U.S. at ----, 103 S.Ct. at 2071. Because subsection 3579(g) automatically makes a restitution award a condition of probation or parole, this principle of fairness should also apply to revocation of probation or parole following the defendant's failure to pay restitution awarded under the VWPA. 44 Bearden creates two threshold criteria a court must consider in revocation proceedings: whether the defendant has made a bona fide effort to pay; and, if he has done so and still cannot comply, whether alternative measures of punishment are available. Id. 461 U.S. at ----, 103 S.Ct. at 2073. Section 3579(g) incorporates the first consideration, but not the second. The court or the Parole Commission, under a strict application of subsection 3579(g), could revoke the probation or parole of an indigent who is making good faith efforts to pay his VWPA restitution liability, without considering means of punishment, other than imprisonment, that would satisfy the penalogical interests of the Government. According to Bearden, revocation imposed under such circumstances would be unconstitutional. 45 The absence of an express requirement in subsection 3579(g) that revocation cannot occur unless alternative punishments are considered does not render the statute unconstitutional on its face, however, because the provision can, and should, be construed in a constitutional manner. See International Association of Machinists v. Street, 367 U.S. 740, 81 S.Ct. 1784, 1790, 6 L.Ed.2d 1141 (1961) (federal statutes are to be construed as to avoid serious doubt of their constitutionality). This section provides only that the court or Parole Commission may revoke probation or parole if the defendant does not make restitution, and that the revocation proceeding must take into account the defendant's financial ability and willingness to pay. It does not preclude the revoking body from considering any other factors deemed relevant or constitutionally required. Under the Act, the court or Parole Commission may, and under Bearden must, consider alternative means of punishment before revoking probation or parole upon the defendant's failure, despite good-faith efforts, to pay restitution to the victim. 46 Because the statute can be applied in a constitutional manner, we reverse the district court's conclusion that it is unconstitutional on its face and remand for further proceedings.