After Five Years – Supreme Court Brief Finally Completed!
Over five years ago, I began an unprecedented effort to obtain criminal restitution for victims of child pornography and online exploitation. A few minutes ago, our United States Supreme Court brief was finally delivered to the printer. The oral argument in this groundbreaking case is scheduled for January 22, 2014.
When I began this journey, I didn't really realize or appreciate how long and how difficult it would be. Earlier this year I counted the number of words in just the appellate briefs and motions which are well over 600,000. Long days, endless nights, someti...
Novel Federal Civil Child Pornography Case Advances: Prejudgment Attachment Ordered and Stay Denied
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On Friday, November 1, 2013, the federal court for the Western District of Washington in Seattle issued a groundbreaking ruling in a novel civil child pornography case which the Marsh Law Firm filed ten months ago on behalf of our client “Amy.”In this remarkable order, Judge Richard Jones granted our motion for prejudgment attachment of convicted sex offender Joshua Osmun Kennedy’s real and personal property. The claims of another of Kennedy’s victims known as “Vicky” were consolidated with Amy’s case, and her joint-motion was also granted.
The ...
A Big Win for Child Crime Victims
In a groundbreaking decision, a Florida federal court recently handed crime victims a significant victory, ruling for the first time that victims are entitled to confer with an assistant United States attorney before the Government enters a pre-charging, non-prosecution agreement with a defendant. Jane Doe v. United States, 08-cv-80736-KAM (S.D. Fla.). The case involved billionaire hedge fund operator Jeffrey Epstein, who induced minors to prostitute themselves, and then was granted what appears to be a special, sweetheart deal by the Feds without any victim notification ...
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Landmark Children’s Rights Case
Earlier today, the United States Supreme Court agreed to review a case brought by the Marsh Law Firm concerning criminal restitution for victims of child pornography.
The Court agreed to decide “what, if any, causal relationship or nexus between the defendant's conduct and the victim's harm or damages must the government or the victim establish in order to recover restitution under 18 U.S.C. §2259,” the Mandatory Restitution for Sexual Exploitation of Children Act of 1994.
The case, Doyle Randall Paroline v. Amy Unknown, arises out of a long-fought and ...
Sixth Circuit – Dissent Criticizes Limited Restitution Options
In a forceful dissent, a judge in the latest child pornography restitution decision proclaimed that "to accomplish the difficult task of assigning financial responsibility to possessors of child pornography for the harm caused by their conduct, district judges should have all the tools provided by law at their disposal and should be permitted broad discretion to fashion an appropriate remedy."
The case before the Sixth Circuit, United States v. Hargrove, was decided under controlling Circuit precedent which requires "proximate cause" before a district court can award ...
D.C. Circuit Weighs Child Pornography Restitution Case
From the BLT: The Blog of LegalTimes, a recent post about the Marsh Law Firm's continued efforts on behalf of child pornography victims in the long-running Monzel case:
The thorny question of how to calculate restitution to victims of child pornography came back before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last week, with the U.S. Department of Justice defending a proposed formula.
Friday's arguments marked the second time the court considered the case of Michael Monzel. Monzel pleaded guilty to one count each of distribution and possession of child pornograp...
Amy and Vicky, Child Porn Victims: No Joint and Several Liability
From FindLaw, a post about the Marsh Law Firm's latest restitution case:
You'd have to imagine, at some point, that either Congress (ha!) or the Supreme Court will step in and clear up the confusion surrounding restitution for those depicted in child pornography, as well as the issue of joint and several liability of the present day possessors of the images. Though they've denied certiorari in Amy and Vicky cases before, the flood of circuit court confusion and circuit splintering continues.
Last September, the ABA Journal wrote an exhaustive feature on Amy and Vicky, ...