Opinion ID: 77262
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether Apprendi applies to restitution orders

Text: 7 In Apprendi, the Supreme Court pronounced that [o]ther than the fact of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt. 530 U.S. at 490, 120 S.Ct. at 2362-63. We have not directly addressed whether Apprendi applies to restitution orders. However, other circuits addressing this issue have held that Apprendi does not apply, primarily because the restitution statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3663, does not have a prescribed statutory maximum. See United States v. Carruth, 418 F.3d 900, 902-04 (8th Cir.2005) (under the restitution statute there was no specific or set upper limit for the amount of restitution, in contrast to criminal statutes which provided maximum terms of imprisonment and fine amounts); United States v. Syme, 276 F.3d 131, 159 (3d Cir.2002) ( Apprendi rule does not apply to restitution orders made pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3663 because Apprendi applied only to criminal penalties that increase a defendant's sentence beyond the prescribed statutory maximum); United States v. Behrman, 235 F.3d 1049, 1054 (7th Cir.2000) ( Apprendi does not apply to restitution orders on the bases that (1) restitution is a civil penalty, not a criminal one and, therefore Apprendi does not apply because it is a rule of criminal procedure; and (2) § 3663 does not prescribe a statutory maximum for restitution); United States v. Wooten, 377 F.3d 1134, 1144 n. 1 (10th Cir.2004) ( Apprendi did not apply to a restitution order because the amount ordered did not exceed any prescribed statutory maximum); United States v. Bearden, 274 F.3d 1031, 1042 (6th Cir. 2001) (restitution orders are not affected by Apprendi because the restitution statutes do not specify a statutory maximum). 8 We agree with the holdings of our sister circuits and adopt their reasoning in holding that Apprendi does not apply to a restitution order. 9