Justices Pass on Whether Juries Must Weigh Restitution Facts

The US Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a trio of appeals asking whether, under the Sixth Amendment, the facts underlying a restitution order must be submitted to a jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.

Justice Neil M. Gorsuch dissented from the denial.

“The Fifth Circuit held that a judge may order restitution in a criminal case based on his own factual findings, without the aid of a jury,” he wrote. “About that, I have my doubts.”

He said he “can only hope that federal and state courts will continue to consider carefully the Sixth Amendment’s application to criminal ...