Duncan v. United States (493 U.S. 906)/Dissent White

Justice WHITE dissenting.

This case involves the interpretation of 18 U.S.C. § 3663(a) (1982 ed., Supp. V), which provides that a court may order a defendant convicted under that title to make restitution "to any victim of such offense." Ibid. In this case, the Tenth Circuit read the term "offense" as used in § 3663(a) broadly: the term does not "restrict a sentencing judge to conside[r] only those acts for which conviction was had, or for which the defendant pleaded guilty." 870 F.2d 1532, 1536 (1989). The Sixth Circuit, by contrast, has "adopted a narrow definition of 'offense' holding that '[a] natural construction of this language would require that the defendant make restitution only to victims of the offense for which he was convicted.' " United States v. Mounts, 793 F.2d 125, 127 (1986) (citations omitted). I would grant the petition for a writ of certiorari in order to resolve this conflict.