High Court Declines to Take Up Retroactivity of Restitution Law

The US Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear an appeal raising a circuit split over how long certain defendants may be on the hook for a restitution obligation.

The rejected petition invited the court to address the divide over whether a legislative extension of the expiration date to pay restitution may be applied retroactively without violating the Constitution’s ex post facto clause.

The Second, Eighth, and Ninth Circuits—along with the highest courts in Washington, Kansas, and Michigan—allow retroactive application of restitution laws, albeit for different reasons, the petition said. The Third and Sixth Circuits—along with the West Virginia Supreme ...