JD Supra

Supreme Court Holds That Restitution Is a Criminal Penalty; Decision Portends New Constitutional Arguments

On January 20, 2026, in Ellingburg v. United States, 607 U.S. ____ (2026), the Supreme Court considered whether the Ex Post Facto Clause applies ...
JD Supra

Calling it What it Is: Restitution as a “Plainly Criminal” Punishment Under Unanimous SCOTUS opinion in Ellingburg v. United States

The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA), enacted in 1996, requires defendants convicted of certain federal crimes to pay ...

Clarence Thomas wants SCOTUS to return to understanding established in 1798

In a concurring opinion joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, Thomas said he would restore the approach taken in Calder v. Bull.
Reason

Justice Thomas, Joined by Justice Gorsuch, Argue for Broader Scope of Constitutional Ban on Ex Post Facto Laws

Brief excerpts from today's concurrence in Ellingburg v. U.S., though the whole opinion is worth a read: Eugene Volokh is the Thomas M. Siebel Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, and ...