Draft
Resolution to Prioritize Victim Restitution
Model Resolution
WHEREAS, restitution is a critical mechanism by which the criminal justice system acknowledges and addresses the direct harm on victims and survivors of crime;
WHEREAS, failure to collect ordered restitution creates an additional harm and causes crime victims and the public to lose faith in the criminal justice system;
WHEREAS, legislatures in every state and the federal government have required by statute or constitutional amendment that courts order restitution in cases where a monetary loss can be calculated;[1]
WHEREAS, court ordered restitution often goes uncollected and victims remain without the validation and financial resources they need to rebuild their lives after crime;[2]
WHEREAS, restitution debt comprises the largest portion of uncollected federal criminal debt, totaling over $40 billion;[3]
WHEREAS, research has shown that people who pay a high percentage of their restitution obligations have a lower likelihood of committing a new crime;[4]
WHEREAS, research has also found no direct correlation between payment of state criminal fines and lower recidivism;[5]
WHEREAS, states have discretion to prioritize criminal debt payments;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that [insert state] develop legislation to properly address a victim’s right to restitution by prioritizing restitution over all criminal justice fines, fees and obligations.
Approved by the ALEC Board of Directors June 29, 2015
[1] Rachel L. McLean & Michael D. Thompson, Council of State Gov’ts Justice Center, Repaying Debts 28 (2007) available at http://victimsofcrime.org/docs/default-source/restitution-toolkit/repaying_debts_full_
report.pdf?sfvrsn=2.
[2] Matthew Dickman, Should Crime Pay?: A Critical Assessment of the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996, 97 Calif. L. Rev. 1687, 1687–1718 (2009).
[3] See Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Dep’t of Justice, U.S. Attorneys’ Annual Statistical Report: Fiscal Year 2007, tbl.8A (2007).
[4] Douglas N. Evans, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The Debt Penalty: Exposing the Financial Barriers to Offender Reintegration 2 (2014), http://justicefellowship.org/sites/default/files/The%20
Debt%20Penalty_John%20Jay_August%202014.pdf.
[5] Daniel M. Fetsco, Unpaid Restitution: An Under-Enforced Right of Victims and Suggestions to Improve the Collection of Restitution in Wyoming, 12 Wyo. L. Rev. 367 (2012).