Ninth Circuit Decides Restitution Can Be Ordered For Title 26 Tax Crimes 

In United States v. Baston, No. 09-50238 (June 21, 2010), the Ninth Circuit decided that district courts may order restitution as a condition of supervised release for tax crimes (offenses under Title 26 of the United States Code) under authority granted by the "Supervised Release Statute," 18 U.S.C. Sect. 3583(d).  The Circuit rejected the argument that district courts' restitution orders were limited to those falling under the Victim and Witness Protection Act or the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (neither of which include restitution for tax crimes).  However, the amount of the resitution must be directly related to the offense of conviction, as long as the offense of conviction does not involve an element of a scheme or conspiracy.