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Bankruptcy Declaration Voids Court Ordered Restitution
Loaded on July 15, 1990
published in Prison Legal News
July, 1990, page 3
On May 29, 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that criminals can avoid paying restitution for their crimes by declaring bankruptcy. The court, in a 7 to 2 ruling, held that restitution orders as part of criminal sentences are "debt" under the federal bankruptcy laws and as a result can …
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More from this issue:
- Prison Population Rises 12.1%
- BOP Denies Medical Treatment
- Pleading Supervisory Liability
- Prisoner Advisors Reinstated
- Civil Rights Suit For Damages Against State Prison Officials In Individual Capacities
- County Fined $500,000 for Deliberate Indifference
- Mental Cases Warehoused in IMU, by Mark LaRue
- Bankruptcy Declaration Voids Court Ordered Restitution
- Fascism, Another Step Nearer
- Summary Judgment on Retaliation
- We Are All Prisoners, by Ed Mead
- Indonesia Murders Long Term Political Prisoners
- Washington Detains More Kids
- "The Prison Issue"
- "Captive Voice"
- Capital Punishment, by Lawrence Boulton
- Small Fry, by Dan Pens
- Vietnam MIAs in Perspective
- The Fortress Economy: The Economic Role of the US Prison System
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- Ninth Circuit Lets Stand Ruling That Federal Prisoners’ Gradually Accumulated Savings Are Subject to Restitution Turnover, June 1, 2026. Restitution, Trust Accounts, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Fines.
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026. Conditions of Confinement, Money/Property, Bail/Pretrial Release, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions, Plea Agreements/Guilty Pleas.
- SCOTUS Announces MVRA Restitution Constitutes Criminal Punishment Subject to Ex Post Facto Clause Protections, Feb. 1, 2026. Ex Post Facto, Restitution, Constitution, U.S., Statutory Construction/Interpretation.
- Eighth Circuit Announces § 2255 One-Year Limitations Period Begins to Run in Deferred-Restitution Criminal Case When Subsequent Amended Judgment Finalizes Amount, Nov. 15, 2025. Limitations, Habeas Corpus, Restitution, AEDPA.
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