Fines and Restitution in Federal Courts

This edited government report discusses federal offenders who were ordered to pay criminal fines and victim restitution. The objectives of this report are to: identify the percentage of offenders who were ordered to pay fines or restitution in fiscal year 1997 and those who were not, identify differences across judicial circuits and districts in the percent of offenders who were ordered to pay fines or restitution and those who were not, and provide officials' opinions about possible reasons for those differences. Also documented are changes in the rate at which offenders were ordered to pay restitution before and after the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act in 1996. In establishing the United States Sentencing Commission, Congress sought uniformity in sentencing by narrowing the wide disparity in sentences imposed for similar criminal offences committed by similar offenders. However, this report calls into question whether that goal is actually achieved and assesses the possibilities for its attainment.