Opinion ID: 4170525
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Restitution for Victim’s Legal Fees

Text: We review for plain error if the defendant raises an issue for the first time on appeal. United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731-32, 113 S. Ct. 1770, 1776 (1993). When analyzing a claim under the plain-error standard, this court will look to see (1) whether the district judge committed error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects substantial rights, but only if (4) the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. United States v. Lejarde- 15 Case: 16-15972 Date Filed: 05/19/2017 Page: 16 of 17 Rada, 319 F.3d 1288, 1290 (11th Cir. 2003). Plain error cannot be established where the explicit language of a statute or rule does not resolve an issue and there is no precedent from the Supreme Court or our court directly resolving it. Id. at 1291. Chapter 110 of Title 18 of the United States Code involves crimes related to the sexual exploitation and other abuse of children, including 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2), receipt of child pornography. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 2251-2260a. It requires the district judge to order restitution for any offense in the chapter, for “the full amount of the victim’s losses.” See 18 U.S.C. § 2259(a), (b)(1), (b)(4)(A). The victim’s losses, as determined by the judge, “include any costs incurred by the victim for— (E) attorney’s fees, as well as other costs incurred.” § 2259(b)(3). Victim is defined as “the individual harmed as a result of a commission of a crime under this chapter, including, in the case of a victim who is under 18 years of age, . . . the legal guardian of the victim.” § 2259(c). In applying § 2259, the Supreme Court held the government must prove the defendant’s conduct was the proximate cause of the victim’s losses in order to impose a restitution order for those losses. Paroline v. United States, __ U.S. __, __, 134 S. Ct. 1710, 1722 (2014). The Court reasoned the first five categories of § 2259(b)(3), including the provision identifying attorney’s fees, give “guidance to district courts as to the specific types of losses Congress thought would often be 16 Case: 16-15972 Date Filed: 05/19/2017 Page: 17 of 17 the proximate result of a Chapter 110 offense and could as a general matter be included in an award of restitution.” Id. at 1721. Section 2259 clearly states, for a crime under the chapter, the district judge must order restitution for the full amount of the victim’s losses, including attorneys’ fees. See 18 U.S.C. § 2259(a), (b). Paroline identified attorney’s fees as a loss specifically contemplated by Congress that would be “the proximate result of a Chapter 110 offense.” 134 S. Ct. at 1721. MC, the victim, went to an attorney after her relationship with Grant was discovered in order to determine what legal remedies were available. The district judge found the attorneys were present during the victim’s interviews, demonstrating the fees were proximately caused by Grant’s crime. Paroline confirms Congress contemplated attorney’s fees to be the proximate result of a conviction under Chapter 110, which includes § 2252A(a)(2). Because the explicit language of a statute and Supreme Court case law have resolved restitution under § 2259 may include attorney’s fees, and Grant had failed to object at the close of the hearing to the calculation of the fees, the district judge did not plainly err in awarding restitution for the victim’s legal fees. See Olano, 507 U.S. at 731-32, 113 S. Ct. at 1776; Lejarde-Rada, 319 F.3d at 1291. AFFIRMED. 17