Fifth Circuit Endorses Full Restitution for Child Pornography Victims

Today, in a rare en banc decision, the Fifth Circuit endorsed the Marsh Law Firm's argument that victims of child pornography are entitled to restitution for the full amount of their losses. In a case which has been winding its way through the courts since 2009, ten of fifteen judges agreed that the Mandatory Restitution for Sexual Exploitation of Children Act of 1994 "imposes no generalized proximate cause requirement before a child pornography victim may recover restitution from a defendant possessing images of her abuse." The Court further declared that the child pornography restitution statute (18 U.S.C. § 2259): requires a district court to ...

$9250 for Illegally Downloading a Song – $0 for Child Pornography?

In July, a Nebraska judge awarded a child pornography victim just $2500 in restitution. Despite un-refuted losses of over a million dollars, the district court concluded it would be “gilding the lily” to give the victim the "full restitution" which Congress made mandatory in Joe Biden's Mandatory Restitution for Sexual Exploitation of Children Act. The victim in this case, United States v. Robert M. Fast, was ten years old when her father directed and produced child pornography videos using a script which he created with his daughter in the staring role. The videos depict a young girl being bound, raped, tortured, and sodomized. Some of ...

Youth in Foster Care and Psychotropic Medications

Making Healthy Choices: A Guide on Psychotropic Medications for Youth in Foster Care looks like a graphic novel, but its photo-heavy format and cartoon speech balloons carry a serious message. Designed to appeal to youth, the booklet walks the reader through the decisions that have to be made when mental health problems—short- or long-term—need to be addressed. Often, the quick solution to dealing with behavior issues of youth in foster care has been to prescribe psychotropic medications. Recent publicity about the high numbers of medicated children and youth in foster care has caused policymakers and agencies to revisit this issue and to ...

Should There Be A Statute Of Limitations For Child Sex Abuse Cases

The Jerry Sandusky trial brought the issue of child sex abuse to light. It also highlighted several of the problems that occur when trying to prosecute these cases. One such problem is the statute of limitations that victims face. Most states provide victims with a five-year window to come forward with their allegations. The statute of limitations should be done away with for a couple of specific reasons. The first reason is that the victims are often too scared or ashamed to come forward until they are adults. Kids who are abused at age 8 may not come forward until they are in their 30's or 40's. Shame isn't the only reason why abuse victims may ...

American Bar Association Journal—Pricing Amy: Should Those Who Download Child Pornography Pay the Victims?

This feature article about the Marsh Law Firm's efforts to secure restitution for victims of child pornography appears in this month's American Bar Association Journal which is read by over one million attorneys and corporate counsel worldwide. Here are several excerpts from Pricing Amy: Should Those Who Download Child Pornography Pay the Victims? It’s not exactly clear when Amy’s pictures began circulating online, but court records indicate the digital images date back to as early as 1998. Amy and her lawyer are, however, fighting back. Her battle is part of a series of cases—now wending their way through the federal courts̵...

Immigration and Child Welfare

The Applied Research Center (ARC) recently published a report on the obstacles that families encounter when they concurrently deal with immigration enforcement and the child welfare system. ARC's national investigation centered on the extent to which children living in foster care are prevented from reuniting with their parents who are detained or have been deported due to alleged immigration violations. ARC used county-level survey data from child welfare caseworkers, attorneys, and judges from 19 jurisdictions in six States for computing the national estimates used in the report. The jurisdictions represented a mix of border and nonborder regions. ...

Preparing Children for Court

Participating in court proceedings may be particularly stressful for children. The Office of Court Improvement, a division of the Office of the State Courts Administrator within the Supreme Court of Florida, released an activity book specifically for children attending dependency hearings. What’s Happening In Dependency Court? aims to familiarize children with the judicial system by providing information related to the court process, legal terms, and the role of court personnel. Information is divided into easy-to-read topical areas, including the following: Why did I have to leave my home? Where will I live now? Will I get to see ...

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