Supreme Court to Resolve Split Over Criminal Restitution Law

The US Supreme Court agreed to clarify the application of a broadly applicable restitution law that has deeply split federal and state courts.

The justices on Monday agreed to consider whether the government can seek to collect restitution under the law if it was passed after a person’s initial criminal conviction.

The Mandatory Victim Restitution Act has life-changing ramifications, said Holsey Ellingburg, Jr., one of the individuals challenging the law.

Ellingburg was convicted of bank robbery in 1996. Under the Victim and Witness Protection Act at the time, he was ordered to pay more than $7,000 in restitution, in addition ...