Monday, April 07, 2014

Restitution Cannot Be Modified Under Section 3563(c)

U.S. v. Wyss, 2014 WL 945169 (3/12/14) (Ut.) (Published) - The 10th reverses a lowering of Mr. Wyss's restitution amount 3 years after sentencing. Mr. Wyss, who hid from his full-time employer, TSA, that he was also working for Utah and so got paid for work he didn't do for TSA, moved to modify his restitution amount because it didn't reflect leave days he was entitled to. The district court granted the motion. But the 10th ruled that, although there are many conditions of probation that can be modified under 18 USC ยง 3563(c), restitution is not one of them. There are specific statutory provisions that lay out when restitution can be changed, e.g. when the victim recovers losses in a civil proceeding, and no provision to change just because the district court goofed originally. So the specific prevails over the general.