Opinion ID: 702320
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Powers of Victims Under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3663

Text: 9 The Co-Executors contend that the district court erroneously granted summary judgment in favor of Auclair because the plain language of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3663(h) enables them to enforce a lien against Auclair's property pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3613. 1 However, Sec. 3663(h) is clearly broken down into two separate enforcement provisions, with Sec. 3663(h)(1) pertaining to those manners in which the United States may enforce a restitution award and Sec. 3663(h)(2) pertaining to the manner in which a private victim may enforce a restitution award. 10 Specifically, Sec. 3663(h)(1)(A) outlines the first of two methods the United States can use to enforce an order of restitution. As that section provides, when a criminal restitution award is handed down, the order may be enforced in the manner provided for the collection of fines in subchapter B of chapter 229 of this title. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3663(h)(1)(A). Subchapter B of chapter 229, or 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3613(a), in turn creates a lien in favor of the United States, one which arises at the time of judgment and can be enforced against all property belonging to the person fined. 11 Section 3663(h)(1)(B) outlines the second method that the United States can use to enforce an order of restitution--in the same manner as a judgment in a civil action. The or separating Sec. 3663(h)(1)(A) and Sec. 3663(h)(2) clearly indicates that the government can choose to enforce a restitution award in either manner. By contrast, Sec. 3663(h)(2) does not refer in any part to Sec. 3613. Rather, the victim is referred to the rules for collection of a judgment in a civil action, which are set out in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 69(a). 2 12 The conjunction and between Secs. 3663(h)(1) and (2) clearly demonstrates that the enforcement powers provided to the United States are broader than those provided to other victims, including the Co-Executors in the case at bar. On one hand, a restitution order can be enforced as if it were a civil judgment by both the United States and a victim as named in Sec. 3663(h)(2). On the other hand, only the United States can enforce against an individual's property the lien which arose in its favor upon entry of judgment. Victims such as the Co-Executors are not afforded this second option because, in contrast to Sec. 3663(h)(1), Sec. 3663(h)(2) contains no subsection corresponding to Sec. 3663(h)(1)(A). 13 For these reasons, we affirm the district court's finding that the plain language of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3663(h) does not provide the Co-Executors, as private individuals, with the ability to enforce their restitution judgment against Auclair's property in any manner other than as a civil judgment. 14