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Ninth Circuit: Vested Retirement Benefits May Be Garnished to Pay Criminal Fines
Loaded on July 15, 2008
published in Prison Legal News
July, 2008, page 44
The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, sitting en banc, held that the federal Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996 (MVRA) trumps the anti-alienation provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), so as to permit the government to garnish the personal portion of a prisoner’s retirement …
Filed under:
Crime/Demographics,
Criminal Prosecution,
Victims,
Seizure of Prisoner Funds,
Restitution,
ERISA.
Location:
California.
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More from this issue:
- Not the Usual Suspects: The Politics of the Prison Boom, by Marie Gottschalk
- Arkansas Law Discloses Legislators’ Business Ties to State, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- PEW Public Safety Report: Prisoncrats Abuse Their Probation/Parole Violation Powers So As To Stymie Offenders’ Re-entry Into Society, by Marvin Mentor
- Child Abuse Abounds in Wilderness and Boot Camp Programs, by Matthew Clarke
- Squalor, Corruption Cause Cancellation of GEO Group’s TYC Contract, by Gary Hunter
- A Long Road Toward Reform: An Interview with John Boston, Director of the Prisoners’ Rights Project of the New York City Legal Aid Society, by Todd Matthews
- Compassionless Conservative Texas Judge Closes Court Promptly, Ensuring Execution, by Matthew Clarke
- Once Again, Former Florida DOC Secretary Faces Liability in Prisoner Beating; Case Settled for $400,000, by David Reutter
- Two BOP Guards, One Beaten Prisoner: One Guilty Plea, One Acquittal
- “Hot Bunking” at Cook County Jail Could Violate Consent Decree
- Out-going Kentucky Governor Issues 101 Pardons, Commutations, by David Reutter
- Wisconsin County Bans Profiteering in Jail Phone Contracts
- Missouri Execution Nurse, Doctor Have Questionable Histories, by John Dannenberg
- Indicted California Sheriff Resigns to Fight Federal Corruption Charges
- California DOC Federal Health Care Receiver Replaced, by John Dannenberg
- California Juvenile Parolees Entitled to Two-Step Revocation Process, by John Dannenberg
- $100,000 Settlement in Illinois Jail Guard’s Forced Oral Sex of Female Prisoner
- California: Few Sex Predators Civilly Committed To Mental Hospitals, Despite Expanded Qualification Criteria, by John Dannenberg
- CCA Fined $140,000 for Early Release of Prisoners at FL Jail; Quits Contract
- Infected Hand Mistreatment At Sacramento County Jail Settled For $100,000
- Georgia Sheriff, Judges, Other Officials Face Misconduct, Criminal Charges, by David Reutter
- Grand Jury Report, Four Nebraska Jail Guards Indicted in Prisoner’s Death, by David Reutter
- No Safety or Security for Maryland Prisoners, by Michael Rigby
- $150,000 Settlement in Pennsylvania Jail Prisoner’s Suicide
- Ohio Prisoner Wins $4,525 Award For Assault By Guard
- California DOC Stipulates to Removal of Visitor X-Ray Ma-chines, but Damages Appeal Dismissed, by John Dannenberg
- Washington State Sex Offender Vigilante Dies In Prison
- $35,00 Settlement in Sexual Assault of Pennsylvania Female Prisoner by Guard
- Ninth Circuit: Prisoner’s Eighth and Fourteenth Amendment Classification Claims Fail Sandin Test, by John Dannenberg
- Change in Texas Parole Law May Be Ex Post Facto Violation, by Matthew Clarke
- News in Brief:
- Ninth Circuit: Vested Retirement Benefits May Be Garnished to Pay Criminal Fines
More from these topics:
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- Fifth Circuit Rules Against Louisiana Prisoner Seeking to Recoup Money Made at Angola Prison Rodeo, Jan. 1, 2026. Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts, Qualified Immunity, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Louisiana Detainee Captured After Two Previous Escapes, Dec. 1, 2025. Criminal Prosecution, Escapes, Jail Specific, Assaults on Staff, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration.
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- HRDC’s Washington Jail Debit-Release Card Suit Survives Summary Judgment, Nov. 1, 2025. Summary Judgment, Class Certification, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Official Report, HRDC Litigation.
- $1.8 Million Settlement Reached Following CDCR Data Breach, Nov. 1, 2025. DOC/BOP misconduct, Medical Records, Settlements, Class Certification, Disclosure of Records, Class Notice, Public Records, Restitution, Trust Accounts.
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- Review: “Reforming the Shadow Carceral State”, Aug. 1, 2025. Reviews, Criminal justice system reform, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Fines.
- $815,000 Settlement in Nevada Class-Action Suit Over Debit Release Cards, Aug. 1, 2025. Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Trust Accounts.
- $2.8 Million Settlement in National NUMI Debit Release Card Class Action, June 1, 2025. Release and Reentry, Money/Property, Seizure of Prisoner Funds, Prisoner Property, Trust Accounts.

