United States v. Luna Caudillo

In United States v. Luna Caudillo, —- F.4th —-, No. 23-40560 (5th Cir. Aug. 7, 2024), the Fifth Circuit held that mandatory-minimum restitution awards under 18 U.S.C. § 2259(b)(2)(B) might violate the Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial, but it declined to resolve that question because this defendant’s plea agreement included a waiver of any challenge to the restitution award.

For over a decade, it has been clear that “[a]ny fact that, by law, increases the penalty for a crime . . . must be submitted to the jury and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013). The Fifth Circuit has previously found that law inapplicable to restitution amounts not based on a mandatory minimum, e.g., United States v. Read, 710 F.3d 219, 231 (5th Cir. 2012) (per curiam), but it has not yet decided whether mandatory-minimum restitution awards violate Alleyne.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 2259(b)(2)(B), defendants convicted of trafficking in child pornography shall be ordered to pay no less than $3,000 per victim. In this case, the Fifth Circuit left open the possibility that statute may be unconstitutional under the Sixth Amendment and Alleyne.