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No. 10646263
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Davis v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco
No. 10646263 · Decided August 1, 2025
No. 10646263·Ninth Circuit · 2025·
FlawFinder last updated this page Apr. 2, 2026
Case Details
Court
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Decided
August 1, 2025
Citation
No. 10646263
Disposition
See opinion text.
Full Opinion
FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
In re: JOSHUA DAVIS No. 24-3090
____________________
D.C. Nos.
3:19-cr-00040-
WHO
JOSHUA DAVIS,
3:19-cr-00676-
WHO
Petitioner.
v.
ORDER AND
AMENDED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT
OPINION
COURT FOR THE NORTHERN
DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SAN
FRANCISCO,
Respondent.
UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA; AHMAD WAGAAFE
HARED; MATTHEW GENE
DITMAN; ANTHONY FRANCIS
FAULK,
Real Parties in Interest.
2 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
In re: N.A.
____________________ No. 24-3092
D.C. Nos.
N. A., 3:19-cr-00040-
WHO
Petitioner, 3:10-cr-00676-
WHO
v.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT FOR THE NORTHERN
DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SAN
FRANCISCO,
Respondent,
UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA; AHMAD WAGAAFE
HARED; MATTHEW GENE
DITMAN; ANTHONY FRANCIS
FAULK,
Real Parties in Interest.
Petition for Writ of Mandamus
Argued and Submitted October 10, 2024
San Francisco, California
Filed June 2, 2025
Amended August 1, 2025
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 3
Before: Lucy H. Koh and Anthony D. Johnstone, Circuit
Judges, and Michael H. Simon, District Judge. *
Order;
Opinion by Judge Koh;
Concurrence by Judge Johnstone
SUMMARY **
Restitution
Petitioners, Joshua Davis and N.A., were the victims of
cryptocurrency theft and extortion. Petitioners promptly
notified the government of the theft and extortion, filed
petitions for “remission” of the lost cryptocurrency with the
government, and participated in the criminal investigation.
Due to a series of communication errors between the
government agencies responsible for calculating restitution,
however, the government submitted restitution amounts to
the district court that did not account for the full value of
Petitioners’ stolen cryptocurrency. After discovering that the
district court entered the incorrect amounts in the restitution
orders, Petitioners attempted to correct the restitution orders
through the procedures set forth in the Mandatory Victims
Restitution Act (MVRA), 18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5), and the
*
The Honorable Michael H. Simon, United States District Judge for the
District of Oregon, sitting by designation.
**
This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has
been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.
4 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
Crime Victims’ Rights Act (CVRA), 18 U.S.C.
§ 3771(d)(3).
The panel granted two petitions for writs of mandamus
brought under the CVRA, § 3771(d)(3), and remanded for
further consideration in the district court as to whether
Petitioners met the requirements to reopen restitution
proceedings set forth in the MVRA, § 3664(d)(5). The panel
held that Petitioners were entitled to seek mandamus relief
through the CVRA’s mandamus procedure in § 3771(d)(3).
The panel determined that § 3771(d)(3), which allows the
assertion of a crime victims’ rights when “no prosecution is
underway,” permits the assertion of rights under the MVRA,
§ 3664(d)(5), during the period after judgment is entered.
The panel then determined that post-judgment petitions to
reopen restitution brought under the MVRA, § 3664(d)(5),
qualify as “any motion asserting a victim’s right” under
§ 3771(d)(3). Petitioners were therefore entitled to bring a
mandamus petition before the court of appeals pursuant to
the CVRA, § 3771(d)(3). The panel further held that the
limitations on motions to re-open a sentence set forth in the
CVRA, § 3771(d)(5), do not apply to petitions to reopen
restitution brought under § 3664(d)(5). Finally, the panel
granted the petitions for writs of mandamus because the
panel concluded that the MVRA, § 3664(d)(5) allows crime
victims to petition to reopen restitution when, as here, a
victim “subsequently discovers” that a district court’s
restitution order failed to include recoverable losses. The
panel remanded to the district court to consider whether
Petitioners met the additional good cause and timing
requirements set forth in the MVRA, § 3664(d)(5).
Concurring in full in the majority opinion, Judge
Johnstone wrote separately to note that the majority opinion
primarily addresses a victim’s ability to seek amendment of
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 5
restitution orders under § 3664(d)(5) of the MVRA. Judge
Johnstone wrote that the majority opinion considered
§ 3771(d)(3) as the source of the court’s mandamus
authority to correct the district court’s denial of relief under
§ 3664(d)(5), and considered the limitations in § 3771(d)(5)
to explain that those limitations do not apply to motions
brought under § 3664(d)(5).
COUNSEL
Elisha J. Kobre (argued) and Stephen K. Moulton, Sheppard
Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, Dallas, Texas; N.A.
(argued), Pro Se; Paul G. Cassell, Utah Appellate Project,
S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah, Salt
Lake City, Utah; for Petitioners.
Merry J. Chan (argued), Chief, Appellate Section, Criminal
Division; Robert S. Leach, Assistant United States Attorney;
Ismail J. Ramsey, United States Attorney; Office of the
United States Attorney, United States Department of Justice,
San Francisco, California; for Real Party in Interest.
Carmen A. Smarandoiu (argued) and Angela Chuang,
Assistant Federal Public Defenders; Jodi Linker, Federal
Public Defender; Federal Public Defenders Office, San
Francisco, California; for Real Party in Interest.
Gail Shifman, Law Office of Gail Shifman, San Francisco,
California, for Real Party in Interest.
Jennifer J. Wirsching, Law Office of Jennifer Wirsching,
Burbank, California, for Real Party in Interest.
6 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
ORDER
The Opinion filed on June 2, 2025, is amended as
follows:
On slip opinion page 12, line 1: replace <and
that believed> with <and the district court
believed>
On slip opinion page 27, line 4: replace
<364> with <364.>
On slip opinion page 32, line 32 through page
33, line 3: replace <The district court’s
contrary interpretation treated Petitioners’
“losses” solely as “the number of stolen
Ethereum” rather than the value of those
Ethereum. Though perhaps intuitive in
isolation, that reading takes “losses” out of
context.> with <The word “losses” in
§ 3664(d)(5) encompasses the value of the
stolen Ether.>
The Panel has voted to deny the Petitions for Panel
Rehearing. Judge Johnstone and Judge Koh have voted to
deny the Petitions for Rehearing En Banc, and Judge Simon
has so recommended. The full court has been advised of the
Petitions for Rehearing En Banc, and no judge has requested
a vote on whether to rehear the matter en banc. Fed. R. App.
P. 40. The Petitions for Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc
are therefore DENIED. No further petitions for rehearing of
the Amended Opinion may be filed.
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 7
OPINION
KOH, Circuit Judge:
These related petitions stem from a cryptocurrency theft
and extortion scheme. Joshua Davis (“Davis”) and N.A.
(collectively, “Petitioners”) each petition for a writ of
mandamus ordering the U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of California to correct erroneous restitution orders
arising from three criminal defendants’ theft of Petitioners’
cryptocurrency. The United States of America (the
“government”) as well as Ahmad Wagaafe Hared (“Hared”),
Matthew Gene Ditman (“Ditman”), and Anthony Francis
Faulk (“Faulk”) (collectively, “the defendants”) are real
parties in interest in this proceeding.
This dispute centers on a procedural question: whether a
mechanism exists for Petitioners to assert their right to full
restitution after the court has entered judgment. We conclude
that the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, 18 U.S.C.
§ 3664(d)(5), provides a procedural mechanism for relief
under these circumstances, and that the Crime Victims’
Rights Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3), permits us to review the
district court’s denial of such relief on petition for a writ of
mandamus. Because the district court ordered incorrect
restitution amounts and erred in denying Petitioners’
motions to reopen, we grant the petitions for a writ of
mandamus and remand these matters to the district court for
further consideration in accordance with this opinion.
8 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
BACKGROUND
I. Factual Background
A. The defendants stole cryptocurrency and extorted
Davis.
Petitioners were victims in a cryptocurrency theft and
extortion scheme. In 2014, Davis and his friend N.A.
invested in a new cryptocurrency, known as Ether. 1 Davis
handled the transactions, purchasing Ether for himself and
on behalf of N.A.. Davis then emailed instructions to N.A.,
explaining how to access the Ether in N.A.’s digital account.
Two years later, the defendants targeted Davis. The
defendants first impersonated Davis to his cellphone
company and deceived the cellphone provider into handing
over control of Davis’s cellphone number. Using the
misappropriated cellphone number, the defendants hacked
into Davis’s email accounts, reset his passwords, and
invaded his electronic storage records. The defendants used
password information within those accounts to steal both
Petitioners’ Ether. The conspirators then called Davis and
threatened to expose his private information unless he paid
them more money.
B. Petitioners reported the crime to the government.
Davis reported the cryptocurrency theft and the extortion
to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) a few days
1
Ether is a cryptocurrency that is supported by a decentralized
blockchain, known as Ethereum, which is a “distributed ledger” that
permanently stores information. Nathan Reiff, What is Ether (ETH), the
Cryptocurrency of Ethereum Apps?, Investopedia (May 26, 2024),
https://www.investopedia.com/tech/what-ether-it-same-ethereum/
[https://perma.cc/77HK-47C3] (“Ether . . . is the native cryptocurrency
of the Ethereum platform.”).
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 9
after the initial theft. His report included recordings of the
extortion attempt and alleged that a “malicious hacker” stole
$43,000 worth of cryptocurrency from the Ethereum
accounts. Davis later filed a Petition for
Remission/Mitigation of Forfeiture (“remission petition”)
with the FBI. 2 Davis’s petition stated that the defendants
stole 134.5 Ether, then worth $249,158, from his account.
His remission petition links directly to the Ethereum ledger’s
records of the illegal transfers. Sometime later, Davis further
assisted the investigation by testifying before a grand jury.
N.A. also reported the crime to multiple government
officials. He first informed an FBI agent in 2016, via a phone
call and follow-up email, that he lost 4,080.3 Ether in the
theft. In 2018, N.A. filed a remission petition with the FBI
stating, again, that 4,080.3 Ether were stolen from him. N.A.
reported that the value of his Ether as of October 19, 2018,
was $830,464.30 and that the value of the Ether at the time
of the theft was $38,885.30. N.A. later spoke with a different
FBI representative and confirmed that 4,080.3 Ether were
stolen. He also filed a second remission petition in February
2020, affirming that 4,080.3 Ether were stolen from him. In
that petition, N.A. stated his Ether was then worth
$911,907.17.
Eventually, the government indicted the defendants in
the Northern District of California. Hared and Ditman pled
guilty to computer fraud and abuse in violation of 18 U.S.C.
2
Remission is a process in civil or criminal forfeiture proceedings where
the Department of Justice “solicits, considers, and rules on [crime
victims’] petitions for payment” from forfeited funds held by the DOJ.
U.S. Department of Justice, Asset Forfeiture Policy Manual 14-1 (2023).
This process is separate from criminal restitution, which seeks funds
directly from the criminal defendant. See id; see also 28 C.F.R § 9
(providing procedural regulations governing remission).
10 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
§ 1030(b) and aggravated identity theft in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1). Faulk, who was indicted
separately, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349.
As the underlying criminal cases proceeded, Davis and
N.A. received periodic notices from the United States
Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California
through the Department of Justice’s Victim Notification
System (“VNS”). For example, after each defendant pled
guilty, Petitioners received VNS notices that informed
recipients of their “right to full and timely restitution as
provided in law.” The VNS notices also stated that a victim
may file a victim impact statement and that they should
“submit proof of [their] loss along with all supporting
documents” as this “may be [their] final opportunity to
submit proof of loss to substantiate an Order of Restitution.”
Petitioners did not respond to these notices and did not
participate in the sentencing proceedings.
C. The government failed to properly calculate
restitution.
As the district court explained, the government
“apparently made two substantial missteps in this case.”
First, the government did not “communicat[e] between the
remission and restitution teams.” Thus, the probation
office—which receives proposed loss amounts from the
United States Attorney’s Office—recommended that the
defendants pay only $43,000 in restitution to Davis and
$40,000 to N.A. Second, the government did not “ensur[e]
that probation included the restitution amounts in the notices
to victims.” At the sentencings, the government did not
object to the probation office’s recommended restitution
amounts. Thus, the district court imposed joint and several
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 11
liability for restitution of $40,000 to N.A. and $43,000 to
Davis for each defendant. 3
These restitution amounts dramatically understated the
value of Petitioners’ Ether. As the district court later
acknowledged, “[a]t the defendants’ sentencing hearings, I
entered restitution that reflected what the government sought
in restitution, not the much higher numbers that the victims
sought in remission.” After learning of these errors,
Petitioners began proceedings before the district court to
correct the restitution orders. N.A. filed a belated victim
impact statement on October 28, 2023, explaining that the
stolen Ether was worth “more than $7 million at sentencing.”
Davis and N.A. then filed motions to reopen the sentences to
amend restitution in the underlying criminal cases.
D. The district court denied relief.
Before the district court, Davis and N.A. both argued that
the district court erred by ordering restitution of only
$43,000 and $40,000, respectively, when the value of their
stolen Ether was far higher on the dates of each sentencing,
and 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b)(1)(B) required the court to order
restitution equal to the value of the stolen Ether on the dates
of each sentencing. Davis stated that his stolen Ether was
worth $229,430 on the date of Hared’s sentencing;
$210,730 on the date of Ditman’s sentencing; and
$242,912 on the date of Faulk’s sentencing. N.A stated that
his stolen Ether was worth $7,376,006.59 on the date of
3
The district court sentenced Faulk on August 17, 2023, Hared on
August 31, 2023, and Ditman on October 12, 2023. Hared and Ditman
received probationary sentences of five and three years respectively.
Faulk received a 36-month custodial sentence to be served concurrently
with his sentence for a related federal money laundering conviction in
the Northern District of Georgia.
12 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
Faulk’s sentencing. Petitioners reach these figures based on
the highest price Ether achieved on the given day of trading,
or the “day high” price. Notably, on Faulk’s sentencing date,
Ether’s price fluctuated by roughly $250.
Thus, Petitioners argued, they were entitled to the full
value of their stolen Ether as of the dates of each sentencing,
and the district court should reopen restitution under
18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3). In the alternative, Petitioners argued
the district court should determine that Petitioners had
“subsequently discover[ed] further losses” under 18 U.S.C.
§ 3664(d)(5), which would allow the district court to amend
the restitution orders for all defendants upon a showing of
good cause for the failure to include Petitioners’ losses in the
initial claim for restitution.
The district court denied the motions to reopen on April
30, 2024. The district judge concluded that Petitioners could
likely show “good cause” for their failure to participate in
the restitution process. Victims, he noted, are not required to
participate in the restitution process under the Victim
Witness Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3664(g)(1). Moreover,
the district court explained that the VNS notices purporting
to give notice to Petitioners “do not clearly explain that
restitution is different from remission” and “consist of
multiple pages completely filled with very small text and no
distinguishing emphatic features, like bolded or underlined
sections.” The district court further highlighted that the
government made at least “two substantial missteps” when
it failed to communicate Petitioners’ losses and failed to
inform Petitioners as to the amounts they would receive in
restitution. Nonetheless, the district court declined to amend
restitution because it determined that Petitioners did not
“discover further losses subsequent to sentencing” under
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 13
18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5), and the district court believed no
other statutory provision covered this circumstance.
The district court concluded that: “If I had discretion to
grant their motion, the equities weigh in their favor. Nothing
in this Order precludes the victims from filing for writs of
mandamus in the appellate court.” These petitions for
mandamus followed.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Petitions for writs of mandamus under the Crime
Victims’ Rights Act are subject to “ordinary standards of
appellate review.” In re Doe, 57 F.4th 667, 672–73 (9th Cir.
2023). Legal conclusions are reviewed de novo, factual
findings are reviewed for clear error, and discretionary
judgments are reviewed for abuse of discretion. Id. A court
must “issue the writ whenever [it] find[s] that the district
court’s order reflects an abuse of discretion or legal error.”
Kenna v. U.S. Dist. Ct., 435 F.3d 1011, 1017 (9th Cir. 2006).
DISCUSSION
I. Statutory Background
“Federal courts have no inherent power to award
restitution, but may do so only pursuant to statutory
authority.” United States v. Follet, 269 F.3d 996, 998 (9th
Cir. 2001). Three statutory sources are relevant to this
matter: the Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, the
Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996, and the Crime
Victims’ Rights Act of 2004. We briefly summarize each
before turning to the merits.
A. The Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982
The Victim and Witness Protection Act of 1982, largely
codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 3663, 3664, “gives district courts
14 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
the discretion to order a defendant who is convicted of a
criminal offense to pay restitution, in full or in part, to the
victim of that offense.” United States v. Kovall, 857 F.3d
1060, 1064 (9th Cir. 2017) (citing 18 U.S.C.
§ 3663(a)(1)(A)–(B)). When exercising that discretion, a
district court must consider “the amount of loss” each victim
sustained as a result of the offense, the defendant’s financial
situation, as well as other prudential considerations. See
18 U.S.C. § 3663(a)(1)(B).
The Victim and Witness Protection Act also sets out
procedures to determine restitution and enforce an award.
See 18 U.S.C. § 3664. For example, an attorney for the
government must “promptly provide the probation officer
with a listing of the amounts subject to restitution” after
“consulting, to the extent practicable, with all identified
victims.” id. § 3664(d)(1). Then, the probation officer is
instructed to notify all identified victims of “the amounts
subject to restitution submitted to the probation officer,” Id.
§ 3664(d)(2)(ii), and “the opportunity of the victim to submit
information to the probation officer concerning the amount
of the victim’s losses,” id. § 3664(d)(2)(iii). Defendants
then must submit information to the probation officer fully
describing their financial resources. Id. § 3664(d)(3). Any
dispute as to the amount or type of restitution must be
resolved by the court by the preponderance of the evidence.
Id. § 3664(e).
B. The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act of 1996
“As part of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death
Penalty Act of 1996, Congress enacted the Mandatory
Victims Restitution Act of 1996.” Kovall, 857 F.3d at 1064.
The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, as the name
suggests, made restitution mandatory for certain crimes,
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 15
including “any offense committed by fraud or deceit.” Id.
(citing 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(a)(1), (c)(1)(A)).
Procedurally, “[t]he rights to restitution conferred by the
[Mandatory Victims Restitution Act] are generally
enforceable under the procedures in the [Victim and Witness
Protection Act].” Id. (citing 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(d)). Under
the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, “[n]o victim shall be
required to participate in any phase of a restitution
order.” 18 U.S.C. § 3664(g)(1). The Mandatory Victims
Restitution Act therefore makes the government responsible
for litigating restitution issues. See Fed. Ins. Co. v. United
States (“Federal Insurance”), 882 F.3d 348, 357 (2d Cir.
2018). However, if a victim discovers “further losses,” the
Mandatory Victims Restitution Act created a procedure for
the victim to petition the district court for an amended
restitution order. Id. § 3664(d)(5) (requiring such motions be
brought within 60 days of discovery and upon a showing of
good cause).
C. The Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004
Unsatisfied with the existing scheme of victims’ rights,
a bipartisan group of legislators advocated for a
constitutional amendment guaranteeing procedural rights for
crime victims. Federal Insurance, 882 F.3d at 357 (citing
S.J. Res. 1, 108th Cong. (2003)). When that effort stalled,
Congress passed the Crime Victims’ Rights Act as part of
the “Justice for All Act of 2004.” Federal Insurance,
882 F.3d at 357–58 (describing the legislative history); see
also David E. Aaronson, New Rights and Remedies: The
Federal Crime Victims’ Rights Act of 2004, 28 PACE L. REV.
623, 632 & n.34 (2008) (explaining the Crime Victims’
Rights Act passed with little debate).
16 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
The language in the Crime Victims’ Rights Act,
18 U.S.C. § 3771, is almost identical to the proposed
constitutional amendment. See Kenna, 435 F.3d at
1016 (describing the legislative history). It enumerates a
series of “rights” that federal law provides to crime victims.
See 18 U.S.C. § 3771(a). These include the right to notice of
public court proceedings or parole proceedings; the right to
be heard at public proceedings in the district court involving
release, plea, sentencing, or any parole proceeding; the right
to be informed in a timely manner of a plea bargain or
deferred prosecution agreement; the right to full and timely
restitution “as provided in law;” and others. Id.
The Crime Victims’ Rights Act then “provides
mechanisms” for a victim, or a victim’s lawful
representative, to assert the victim’s rights. Kovall, 857 F.3d
at 1065. Section 3771(d)(3), titled “Motion for relief and
writ of mandamus,” states:
The rights described in subsection (a) shall be
asserted in the district court in which a
defendant is being prosecuted for the crime
or, if no prosecution is underway, in the
district court in the district in which the crime
occurred. The district court shall take up and
decide any motion asserting a victim’s right
forthwith. If the district court denies the
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 17
relief sought, the movant may petition the
court of appeals for a writ of mandamus. 4
18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3). “There are limitations on the relief
a victim may obtain” through these procedures. Kovall, 857
F.3d at 1065. The failure to provide a right under the Crime
Victims’ Rights Act is not grounds for a new trial. 18 U.S.C.
§ 3771(d)(5). Moreover, § 3771(d)(5) further explains that:
A victim may make a motion to re-open a
plea or sentence only if –
(A) the victim has asserted the right to be
heard before or during the proceeding
at issue and such right was denied;
(B) the victim petitions the court of
appeals for a writ of mandamus
within 14 days; and
(C) in the case of a plea, the accused has
not pled to the highest offense
charged.
Id. Critically, however, § 3771(d)(5) states that “[t]his
paragraph does not affect the victim’s right to restitution as
provided in title 18, United States Code.” Id.
The Crime Victims’ Rights Act also required the
Department of Justice to promulgate regulations to enforce
crime victims’ rights. Congress mandated that those
4
Section 3771(d)(3) further requires that the court of appeals shall take
up and decide any such petition within 72 hours after the petition has
been filed, unless the litigants, with the approval of the court, stipulate
otherwise. The parties have waived the time limit. See In re Doe, 50 F.4th
1247, 1253 (9th Cir. 2022) (holding parties can agree to extend the 72-
hour deadline).
18 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
regulations “require a course of training for employees and
offices of the Department of Justice that fail to comply with
provisions of Federal law pertaining to the treatment of
crime victims” and “contain disciplinary sanctions” for
Department of Justice employees who “willfully or
wantonly” failed to comply with Federal law. Id.
§ 3771(f)(2)
II. The Merits
The Crime Victims’ Rights Act enumerates a right to
“full and timely restitution as provided in law.” 18 U.S.C.
§ 3771(a)(6). In United States v. Kovall, we explained that
this language in the Crime Victims’ Rights Act does not
itself create a substantive right to full and timely restitution.
857 F.3d at 1070. Rather, the Crime Victims’ Rights Act
“simply repeats” the right to full and timely restitution as
provided in other laws, namely the Victim and Witness
Protection Act and the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act.
Id. In this case, all parties agree that the Mandatory Victims
Restitution Act provides the substantive right to restitution
in 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b)(1)(B). Under that provision, the
district court should have ordered restitution equal to the
greater of “the value of the property on the date of the
damage, loss, or destruction,” or “the value of the property
on the date of sentencing.” 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b)(1)(B).
The district court did not do so and declined to reopen
restitution proceedings after Petitioners sought to correct the
error through the procedure set forth in 18 U.S.C.
§ 3664(d)(5). Because the district court misinterpreted
§ 3664(d)(5), we grant the petitions for writs of mandamus
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 19
pursuant to the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, 18 U.S.C.
§ 3771(d)(3). 5
We first address our authority to grant mandamus relief
under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act. We then discuss
whether § 3664(d)(5) of the Mandatory Victims Restitution
Act permits relief under these circumstances.
A. The Crime Victims’ Rights Act permits
mandamus relief here.
Through § 3771(d)(3) of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act,
Congress created a procedure to ensure crime victims may
petition for a writ of mandamus. See 18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3);
see also Kovall, 857 F.3d at 1072-73 (explaining victims
may not directly appeal an adverse decision under the
Mandatory Victims Restitution Act but must instead petition
for mandamus under § 3771(d)(3)). Section 3771(d)(5)
limits the relief available when a victim moves to reopen a
plea or sentence. We conclude that Petitioners are entitled to
seek mandamus relief to challenge the denial of § 3664(d)(5)
petitions through the procedures set forth in § 3771(d)(3)
and that the limitations in § 3771(d)(5) do not prohibit the
district court from granting such petitions.
1. 18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3) permits mandamus
relief.
We start with § 3771(d)(3). In relevant part, § 3771(d)(3)
provides that:
The rights described in subsection
[§ 3771(a)] shall be asserted in the district
5
Although we conclude that the district court misinterpreted
§ 3664(d)(5), we appreciate the district judge’s thoughtful efforts to
resolve this difficult matter of first impression.
20 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
court in which a defendant is being
prosecuted for the crime or, if no prosecution
is underway, in the district court in the district
in which the crime occurred. The district
court shall take up and decide any motion
asserting a victim’s right forthwith. If the
district court denies the relief sought, the
movant may petition the court of appeals for
a writ of mandamus.
18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3). At issue is whether § 3771(d)(3)
permits crime victims to assert their right to full and timely
restitution in the manner presented: via motions to reopen
under § 3664(d)(5) filed after judgment was entered in the
underlying criminal cases. We first consider whether the
phrase “no prosecution is underway” in § 3771(d)(3) refers
to the period after judgment was entered. We then address
whether the phrase “any motion asserting a victim’s right”
refers to a petition under § 3664(d)(5) seeking to vindicate
the right to “full and timely restitution as provided in law.”
18 U.S.C. § 3771(a)(6).
a. “No prosecution is underway”
The first question relates to timing. Section 3771(d)(3)’s
first sentence provides that “[t]he rights described in
subsection (a) shall be asserted in the district court in which
a defendant is being prosecuted for the crime or, if no
prosecution is underway, in the district court in the district
in which the crime occurred.” 18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3)
(emphasis added). The defendants contend that § 3771(d)(3)
does not permit post-judgment requests for relief. We
disagree.
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 21
The dispute turns on the phrase “no prosecution is
underway.” Id. “Interpretation of a . . . phrase depends upon
reading the whole statutory text.” Dolan v. USPS, 546 U.S.
481, 486 (2006). “Our goal is to understand the statute as a
symmetrical and coherent regulatory scheme, and to fit, if
possible, all parts into a harmonious whole.” United States
v. Wing, 682 F.3d 861, 867 (9th Cir. 2012). Examining the
whole text of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act, many of the
rights therein are post-judgment rights. See 18 U.S.C
§ 3771(a). To effectuate these rights coherently, the “no
prosecution is underway” period must include the time
following sentencing. 6
For example, the Crime Victims’ Rights Act guarantees
victims the right to be “reasonably heard at any public
proceeding in the district court involving release, plea,
sentencing, or any parole proceeding.” 18 U.S.C.
§ 3771(a)(4); see also id. § 3771(a)(2) (providing a right to
notice of such proceedings). Parole proceedings, of course,
occur after sentencing and judgment by their very definition.
See United States v. Kincade, 379 F.3d 813, 817 n.2 (9th Cir.
2004) (explaining federal parole continues to exist for those
sentenced prior to 1987); 18 U.S.C. § 3551 note
(documenting extensions). And, although release may occur
prior to sentencing in the pre-trial release context, release
proceedings may also occur when a post-conviction prisoner
is released from a custodial sentence. See, e.g., United States
v. Ebbers, 432 F. Supp. 3d 421, 424 (S.D.N.Y. 2020)
6
To be clear, we conclude today only that “no prosecution is underway”
permits victims to assert their rights via a motion after prosecution has
concluded. Whether the “no prosecution is underway” clause permits
crime victims to assert their rights via motion before prosecution has
commenced is not before us, and we need not reach that question.
22 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
(assuming that the Crime Victims’ Rights Act applies to
motions for compassionate release).
The Crime Victims’ Rights Act also contemplates that
crime victims will assert their rights in habeas corpus
proceedings. Section 3771(b)(2)(A) provides that a crime
victim has a limited set of rights—including the right to be
reasonably heard—in a “Federal habeas corpus proceeding
arising out of a State conviction.” Section 3771(b)(2)(B)(i)
specifically states that those limited rights “may be enforced
by the crime victim or the crime victim’s lawful
representative in the manner described in [§ 3771(d)(1) and
§ 3771(d)(3).]” Put differently, § 3771(b)(2)(B) expressly
instructs crime victims to file “any motion” asserting
victims’ rights in post-judgment habeas corpus proceedings
via § 3771(d)(3).
Because the Crime Victims’ Rights Act affords these
post-judgment rights and provides mechanisms for their
enforcement, the “no prosecution is underway” clause must
be read to contemplate post-judgment enforcement. See
Scalia and Garner, Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal
Texts 181 (2012) (“The provisions of a text should be
interpreted in a way that renders them compatible, not
contradictory.”). Thus, when “no prosecution is underway”
because the prosecution has ended, crime victims may file
motions asserting their rights “in the district court in the
district in which the crime occurred.” 18 U.S.C.
§ 3771(d)(3). Admittedly, if the prosecution occurred in a
district other than “the district in which the crime occurred,”
then “the district in which the crime occurred” could be a
district court unfamiliar with the underlying criminal
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 23
matter. 7 This potential anomaly is mitigated, however,
through the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee that those two
districts will almost always be the same. See U.S. Const.
amend. VI (“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial
jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have
been committed . . ..”); see also Fed. R. Crim. P.
18 (“Unless a statute or these rules permit otherwise, the
government must prosecute an offense in a district where the
offense was committed.”). We therefore conclude that
§ 3771(d)(3)’s “no prosecution is underway” clause permits
crime victims like Petitioners to file motions asserting their
rights after prosecution has ended.
b. “Any motion asserting a victim’s right”
We next conclude that a petition to reopen restitution
under § 3664(d)(5) is “any motion asserting a victim’s right”
within the meaning of § 3771(d)(3). As we stated in Kovall,
“[t]he [Crime Victims’ Rights Act] provides mechanisms for
enforcing a victim’s rights under the Act.” 857 F.3d at 1065.
Specifically, § 3771(d)(3) directs the district court to
consider “any motion” asserting crime victims’ rights. The
term “any” is “broad and all-encompassing.” Olympic Forest
Coal. v. Coast Seafoods Co., 884 F.3d 901, 906 (9th Cir.
2018). The word “motion” means “[a] written or oral
application requesting a court to make a specified ruling or
order.” Motion, BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY (8th ed. 2004).
And the Crime Victims’ Rights Act explicitly contemplates
that crime victims may bring “motion[s] to reopen” prior
proceedings. See 18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(5) (providing
7
In this matter, the defendants conceded in their plea agreements that the
crime occurred in the Northern District of California.
24 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
procedural limitations on motions to reopen pleas and
sentences other than those seeking restitution).
Considering the text of these provisions together, we
conclude that the term “any motion asserting a victim’s
right” in § 3771(d)(3) includes Petitioners’ post-judgment
petitions to correct the restitution orders under § 3664(d)(5).
Though formally styled as “petitions,” crime victims’
written requests to the district court to reopen restitution
under § 3664(d)(5) fall comfortably within “any motion.”
And as required to invoke our mandamus authority under
§ 3771(d)(3), such petitions assert one of the rights set forth
in § 3771(a) of the CVRA: the “right to full and timely
restitution as provided in law.” 18 U.S.C. § 3771(a)(6). As
we explained in Kovall, the restitutionary right in § 3771(a)
incorporates the substantive right to restitution created by the
Mandatory Victims Restitution Act. 857 F.3d at 1070. So
petitions to amend restitution orders under § 3664(d)(5)
“assert[] a victim’s right” as described in § 3771(a). Where,
as here, a “district court denies the relief sought” in such
petitions, § 3771(d)(3) permits crime victims like Petitioner
to seek mandamus relief from this court.
The enactment history of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act
also supports this textual analysis. Following the Victim and
Witness Protection Act of 1982 and the Mandatory Victims
Restitution Act of 1996, Congress enacted the Crime
Victims’ Rights Act of 2004 to make victims “independent
participants in the criminal justice process.” Kenna, 435 F.3d
at 1013 (describing legislative history). Notably, the Crime
Victims’ Rights Act’s text is “almost identical” to that of the
proposed constitutional amendment seeking to expand
procedural protections for crime victims. Id. Thus, although
the Crime Victims’ Rights Act does not create new
substantive entitlements to restitution, the text “makes clear
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 25
that its procedural tools are also available to vindicate a
victim’s entitlement to restitution.” Federal Insurance,
882 F.3d at 359. It “confers standing on victims to seek
restitution on their own behalf, rather than relegating them
to bystander status while the government decides, for its own
reasons and pursuant to its own strategy, whether, for whom,
and in what amount to seek restitution.” Id.
That is what occurred here. After the government’s
errors resulted in an incorrect restitution order, Petitioners
asserted their rights to full restitution as provided in the
Mandatory Victims Restitution Act. The district court
denied relief. These petitions for mandamus followed. This
is the procedural mechanism explicitly contemplated in
18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3). See In re Doe, 50 F.4th 1247, 1250
(9th Cir. 2022) (explaining “[t]he CVRA requires a district
court to decide a motion asserting a victim’s rights, including
an application for restitution, ‘forthwith’”).
2. The limitations on motions to reopen in 18
U.S.C. § 3771(d)(5) do not apply to petitions to
amend restitution under § 3664(d)(5).
We next must consider whether the limitations in
18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(5) affect a district court’s authority to
grant petitions to amend restitution under § 3664(d)(5). As
stated above, § 3771(d)(5) provides that:
A victim may make a motion to re-open a
plea or sentence only if –
(A) the victim has asserted the right to be
heard before or during the proceeding
at issue and such right was denied;
26 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
(B) the victim petitions the court of
appeals for a writ of mandamus
within 14 days; and
(C) in the case of a plea, the accused has
not pled to the highest offense
charged.
This paragraph does not affect the victim’s
right to restitution as provided in title 18,
United States Code.
18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(5).
Through § 3771(d)(5)’s final sentence, Congress
exempted parties challenging restitution orders through
18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5) from the procedural hurdles in
§ 3771(d)(5). The key word is “affect.” Id. § 3771(d)(5). The
defendants object that “affect” does not mean “apply to.”
Instead, they provide a variety of definitions for “affect”
including “to act upon; influence; change; enlarge or
abridge; often used in the sense of acting injuriously upon
persons or things.” Affect, BLACK’S LAW DICTIONARY 57
(6th ed. 1990).
We see little difference between these proposed
definitions. Whether “affect” means “to apply to,” “to act
upon,” “to influence,” or to “enlarge or abridge,” the
limitations in § 3771(d)(5) would act upon, influence, and
abridge crime victims’ right to petition for a corrected
restitution order through § 3664(d)(5) and § 3771(d)(3). For
example, the requirement in § 3771(d)(5)(A) states that a
victim can only bring a motion to reopen if the victim “has
asserted the right to be heard before or during the proceeding
at issue and such right was denied.” But the Mandatory
Victims Restitution Act provides that “[n]o victim shall be
required to participate in any phase of a restitution
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 27
order,” 18 U.S.C. § 3664(g)(1). Thus, applying the
limitation in § 3771(d)(5)(A) to restitution motions brought
through § 3664(d)(5) and § 3771(d)(3) in combination
would abridge crime victims’ rights under the Mandatory
Victims Restitution Act.
We are not alone in adopting this commonsense statutory
construction. In Federal Insurance Co. v. United States,
882 F.3d 348 (2d Cir. 2018), the Second Circuit held that the
“most straightforward” and “correct” reading of
§ 3771(d)(5) was that “petitions seeking restitution are
exempted from all of the section’s limitations, including its
fourteen-day deadline for seeking mandamus to reopen a
sentence.” Id. at 363–64. The Second Circuit also reasoned
that applying § 3771(d)(5) in the restitution context posed
significant practical difficulties. Id. at 364. As noted above,
§ 3771(d)(5)(A) requires that the victim “has asserted the
right to be heard before or during the proceeding at issue and
such right was denied.” The Second Circuit remarked that
“[i]t cannot be the case that the district court can render its
restitution decisions unreviewable simply by providing a
victim an opportunity to argue its position.” Federal
Insurance, 882 F.3d at 364.
We agree. Section 3771(d)(5)’s procedural hurdles make
sense when applied to other provisions in the Crime Victims’
Rights Act. For example, a crime victim seeking to reopen a
sentencing based on the victim’s right to be heard,
§ 3771(a)(4), must be able to show that they were denied the
right to speak at the prior proceeding, § 3771(d)(5)(A).
Likewise, a victim seeking to reopen a plea to advocate for
harsher treatment of a defendant in a plea bargain must show
a higher charged offense exists. See 18 U.S.C.
§ 3771(d)(5)(C). As explained above, however, these
provisions make little sense when applied to restitution
28 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
proceedings because a district court could immunize itself
from review merely by granting the victim an opportunity to
participate. See Federal Insurance, 882 F.3d at
364. Accepting the straightforward restitution exemption in
§ 3771(d)(5) obviates these practical irregularities.
In response, the defendants propose that a severability
analysis is implicit within § 3771(d)(5). The defendants
argue that § 3771(d)(5) applies to restitution proceedings
unless its requirements are inconsistent with a right to
restitution under Title 18. For example, Ditman concedes
that because § 3771(d)(5)(A) conflicts with the Mandatory
Victims Restitution Act’s statement that victims are not
obligated to participate in criminal proceedings, see
18 U.S.C. § 3664(g)(1), § 3771(d)(5)(A)’s requirement that
victims seek a right to be heard does not apply in the
restitution context. By contrast, he asserts that no provision
in Title 18 contradicts the 14-day time limitation in
§ 3771(d)(5)(B). Therefore, he claims that the time limit in
§ 3771(d)(5)(B) applies to restitution motions.
This argument is unpersuasive. First, § 3771(d)(5)’s text
refers to “[t]his paragraph” as a whole, and the requirements
therein use the conjunctive term “and.” 18 U.S.C
§ 3771(d)(5). There is no suggestion in that text that these
requirements can be severed from one another based on their
consistency with other federal restitution provisions. Indeed,
we have found no other Circuit that has interpreted
§ 3771(d)(5) as Ditman proposes. 8 Secondly, if Congress
8
The First Circuit has discussed, in passing, the 14-day deadline in
§ 3771(d)(5) as part of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act’s mandamus
procedure. United States v. Aguirre-Gonzalez, 597 F.3d 46, 55 (1st Cir.
2010). That decision, however, did not address the restitution exception
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 29
intended to apply only the timeliness requirement in
§ 3771(d)(5) to petitions seeking restitution under
§ 3664(d)(5), it would surely have said so straightforwardly
rather than requiring district judges to examine the whole of
Title 18 to discern the meaning of this provision. See Cyan,
Inc. v. Beaver Cnty. Emps. Ret. Fund, 583 U.S. 416,
431 (2018) (“Congress does not hide elephants in
mouseholes.” (internal quotation marks omitted)).
We therefore conclude that petitions seeking to amend
restitution orders through § 3664(d)(5) and § 3771(d)(3) in
combination are exempted from § 3771(d)(5)’s limitations.
There are “strong policy reasons that might have motivated
Congress to allow petitioners more time to challenge
restitution orders than to intervene in other aspects of a
defendant’s plea or sentence.” Federal Insurance, 882 F.3d
at 364. “To be sure speed is important” in determining
restitution obligations. Dolan v. United States, 560 U.S. 605,
612 (2010). But the federal restitution scheme “seeks speed
primarily to help the victims of crime and only secondarily
to help the defendant.” Id. at 613. By exempting petitions to
reopen restitution brought under § 3664(d)(5) and
§ 3771(d)(3) from § 3771(d)(5)’s limitations, the Crime
Victims’ Rights Act elevated crime victims’ rights above
finality concerns in the restitution context. Cf. Federal
Insurance, 882 F.3d at 364.
In sum, we conclude that Petitioners are entitled to seek
mandamus relief under the Crime Victims’ Rights Act,
18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3). Under that provision, a court must
“issue the writ whenever [it] find[s] that the district court’s
in § 3771(d)(5) at all. Moreover, that case concerned an appeal of a
restitution order, which the First Circuit declined to convert into a
mandamus petition. Id. That circumstance is not present here.
30 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
order reflects an abuse of discretion or legal error.” Kenna,
435 F.3d at 1017. And if such relief is granted, § 3771(d)(5)
does not prevent the district court from granting Petitioners’
requests to amend the restitution orders pursuant to
§ 3664(d)(5). We next consider whether the district court
erred in its interpretation of § 3664(d)(5).
B. 18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5) permits victims to timely
seek an amended restitution order after
discovering that the original order did not include
losses that, for good cause, were not initially
claimed.
“The ‘primary and overarching goal’ of the Mandatory
Victims Restitution Act ‘is to make victims of crime whole,
to fully compensate these victims for their losses and to
restore these victims to their original state of well-being.’”
United States v. Moreland, 622 F.3d 1147, 1170 (9th Cir.
2010) (emphasis in original) (quoting United States v.
Gordon, 393 F.3d 1044, 1053 (9th Cir. 2004)); see also
Dolan, 560 U.S. at 612 (“[T]he statute seeks primarily to
ensure that victims of a crime receive full restitution.”)
To ensure that victims are fully compensated for their
losses, 18 U.S.C. § 3664 prescribes a process for courts to
determine the proper amount of restitution. See id.
§ 3664(a)–(f); see also Moreland, 622 F.3d at 1171. That
process starts with the probation officer preparing a
“complete accounting of the losses to each victim.”
18 U.S.C. § 3664(a). It should end with the court “order[ing]
restitution to each victim in the full amount of each victim’s
losses as determined by the court.” Id. § 3664(f)(1)(a). But
Congress foresaw that this process might sometimes fail to
capture a victim’s entire losses. So as part of the Mandatory
Victims Restitution Act, Congress created a process for
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 31
victims to request correction of insufficient restitution
awards in limited circumstances. See id. § 3664(d)(5).
Section 3664(d)(5) provides:
If the victim’s losses are not ascertainable by
the date that is 10 days prior to sentencing,
the attorney for the Government or the
probation officer shall so inform the court,
and the court shall set a date for the final
determination of the victim’s losses, not to
exceed 90 days after sentencing. If the victim
subsequently discovers further losses, the
victim shall have 60 days after discovery of
those losses in which to petition the court for
an amended restitution order. Such order may
be granted only upon a showing of good
cause for the failure to include such losses in
the initial claim for restitutionary relief.
Id.
These petitions ask whether § 3664(d)(5) permits
victims to timely seek an amended restitution order after
discovering that the original restitution determination did not
include losses that, for good cause, were not initially
claimed. It does.
1. Petitioners “subsequently discover[ed]
further losses” within the meaning of
§ 3664(d)(5).
Because “subsequently” and “further” are relational
terms, we must read “subsequently discovers further losses”
in context. The phrase refers to the preceding sentence of
§ 3664(d)(5), which concerns “the final determination of the
32 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
victim’s losses.” 18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5). Thus, the provision
contemplates a situation in which, “subsequent[]” to that
determination, victims “discover[] . . . losses” that are
“further” to those determined by the district court. Put
another way, victims “subsequently discover[] further
losses” where, as here, they learn of a difference between the
district court’s final restitution determination and “the full
amount of each victim’s losses” the district court should
have determined under the Mandatory Victims Restitution
Act. 18 U.S.C. § 3664(f)(1)(a). If victims can show “good
cause” for the failure to include those losses in the initial
claim for restitution, the district court may grant a timely
petition to amend the order.
Sometimes there is good cause for the omission of losses
from an initial restitution claim, which results in losses
“further” to the district court’s restitution determination,
because victims did not know of the losses. In the simplest
case, “further losses” may arise because victims did not
know that some of their property had been stolen at the time
of their initial restitution claim. But § 3664(d)(5) also
contemplates variations on this situation. For example, a
victim may reasonably believe that the initial claim included
all the medical expenses from a hospital stay to treat physical
injuries, but may later receive a surprise bill for that stay
after the district court’s restitution determination. See
18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b)(2)(A) (mandating restitution in “an
amount equal to the cost of necessary medical . . . services”).
Even though the victim knew of the losses from the hospital
stay generally, and though none of the losses were incurred
after the final restitution determination, there were “further
losses” not accounted for in the initial claim or restitution
determination. Similarly, if a victim of criminal property
damage receives a bill for repair of the damaged property
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 33
after the final determination, those are “further losses.” See
18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b)(1)(B) (mandating restitution to
compensate for the value of damaged property).
Other times, as in the unusual circumstances here,
victims may know the full amount of their losses but not
know of the omission of the losses from the initial restitution
claim (or, consequently, from the district court’s final
restitution determination). When the victims learn of the
losses omitted from the final determination, that too is a
“subsequent[] discover[y]” of “further losses” within the
meaning of § 3664(d)(5). And there still may be good cause
for the failure to include them in the initial claim. Because
the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act provides that “[n]o
victim shall be required to participate in any phase of a
restitution order,” 18 U.S.C. § 3664(g)(1), victims may rely
on the government to assert their rights to restitution.
Petitioners did so, informing the government of the amount
of stolen Ether with the expectation that the government
would claim their resulting losses. But due to multiple
mistakes by the government—including a lack of internal
communication, a failure to inform Petitioners of the dollar
value being claimed on their behalf, and the under-
calculation of Petitioners’ losses based on the date of the
theft instead of the date of sentencing—the government
ultimately claimed only a fraction of Petitioners’ losses. As
the district court recognized, this likely amounts to good
cause for the failure to include all the Petitioners’ losses in
the initial claim. Like in the case of a surprise medical or
repair bill, § 3664(d)(5) provides the process to seek an
amended restitution order that includes Petitioners’ “further
losses.”
The word “losses” in § 3664(d)(5) encompasses the
value of the stolen Ether. “[T]he words of a statute must be
34 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
read in their context and with a view to their place in the
overall statutory scheme.” West Virginia v. EPA, 597 U.S.
697, 721 (2022) (quoting Davis v. Mich. Dept. of Treasury,
489 U.S. 803, 809 (1989)). So we must interpret
“subsequently discovers further losses” in the context of the
Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, a statute that mandates
compensation to victims for all sorts of losses resulting from
criminal offenses. Of course, that includes property losses,
18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b)(1)(B), but it also includes losses of
monetary value, such as lost income, medical expenses, and
childcare costs. See id. § 3663A(b)(2)–(4). And even for
some property offenses, such as where property is damaged,
the victim’s only “loss” is lost value. See id.
§ 3663A(b)(1)(B). Given this statutory context, we decline
to construe § 3664(d)(5) to permit victims to seek amended
restitution orders based on some recoverable losses, but not
others. Instead, if the district court’s restitution
determination fails to include recoverable losses of any kind,
those are “further losses” for which victims may seek an
amended restitution order.
Reading § 3664(d)(5) narrowly is also contrary to the
interpretive approach demanded by the Supreme Court and
by our own precedent. As the Supreme Court explained in
United States v. Dolan, “the [Mandatory Victims Restitution
Act]’s text places primary weight upon, and emphasizes the
importance of, imposing restitution upon those convicted of
certain federal crimes.” 560 U.S. at 612. Both the Supreme
Court and our Court have warned against reading
§ 3664(d)(5)’s requirements “as depriving the sentencing
court of the power to order restitution” in the correct amount,
as doing so “would harm those—the victims of crime—who
likely bear no responsibility . . . and whom the statute also
seeks to benefit.” Id. at 613–14; see also Moreland, 622 F.3d
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 35
at 1171–73; United States v. Cienfuegos, 462 F.3d 1160,
1162–63 (9th Cir. 2006). Yet the district court did just that.
It interpreted § 3664(d)(5) too narrowly to effectuate
Congress’s command to ensure “restitution to each victim in
the full amount of each victim’s losses.” 18 U.S.C.
§ 3664(f)(1)(a). Nothing in the Mandatory Victims
Restitution Act warrants such a result.
2. Petitioners may satisfy § 3664(d)(5)’s “good
cause” and timeliness requirements.
Petitioners “subsequently discover[ed] further losses”
within the meaning of § 3664(d)(5). But that alone does not
entitle them to amended restitution orders. They must also
show “good cause” for the omission of those losses from the
initial restitution claims presented to the district court.
18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5). The district court noted that
Petitioners could likely show good cause because the
omission was due to the Government’s errors, not their own.
But the district court made no final determination on good
cause. Nor did the district court address whether Petitioners
sought amended restitution orders within sixty days of
discovering their “further losses,” or the consequences of
missing that deadline. See Dolan, 560 U.S. at 611 (holding
that a separate 90-day deadline in § 3664(d)(5) is a non-
jurisdictional “time-related directive” that “does not deprive
the court of the power to order restitution”). We therefore
remand to allow the district court to assess whether
Petitioners satisfy those requirements.
In sum, the district court’s interpretation of
§ 3664(d)(5)’s “further losses” provision was legal error. We
therefore grant Petitioners’ requests for writs of mandamus
36 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
under § 3771(d)(3). 9 See Kenna, 435 F.3d at 1017 (“[W]e
must issue the writ whenever we find that the district court’s
order reflects an abuse of discretion or legal error.”). We
remand to the district court to assess whether Petitioners
satisfy the timing and good cause requirements set forth in
§ 3664(d)(5). 10
CONCLUSION
For the reasons stated above, the petitions seeking
mandamus relief from the district court order denying the
request to reopen restitution are GRANTED. These cases
are REMANDED for further proceedings consistent with
this opinion.
9
Faulk also raises an Eighth Amendment proportionality challenge for
the first time on appeal. Because he failed to raise this Eighth
Amendment argument in the district court, the argument is waived. See
Armstrong v. Brown, 768 F.3d 975, 981 (9th Cir. 2014) (explaining an
“issue will generally be deemed waived on appeal if the argument was
not raised sufficiently for the trial court to rule on it.”). Moreover, as we
have previously held, “[w]here the amount of restitution is geared
directly to the amount of the victim’s loss caused by the defendant’s
illegal activity, proportionality is already built into the order.” See United
States v. Dubose, 146 F.3d 1141, 1145 (9th Cir. 1998).
10
If the district court determines that Petitioners are entitled to relief, the
district court should also consider whether to use the “day high” price of
Ether or some other price marker as of the date of the defendants’
original sentencings.
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 37
JOHNSTONE, Circuit Judge, concurring:
As the majority opinion details, despite Petitioners
timely informing the Government of their stolen Ether,
“substantial missteps” by the Government led the district
court to enter restitution orders in amounts far below the
Petitioners’ actual losses. Congress provided a limited
process for crime victims to correct such erroneous
restitution orders in the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act
(“MVRA”), 18 U.S.C. § 3664(d)(5). I agree that Petitioners
“subsequently discover[ed] further losses” within the
meaning of § 3664(d)(5), so the district court may amend the
restitution orders if Petitioners satisfy § 3664(d)(5)’s
remaining requirements. I also agree that the mandamus
procedure of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act (“CVRA”),
18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(3), permits our court to correct the
erroneous denial of the § 3664(d)(5) petitions. And I agree
that the CVRA’s limitations on “motion[s] to re-open a plea
or sentence” do not “affect” the district court’s ability to
amend a restitution order under § 3664(d)(5). See 18 U.S.C.
§ 3771(d)(5). That is the extent of our court’s holding on the
issues presented by this case, and I join it in full.
To prevent any confusion about our holding’s
contribution to a vexing statutory scheme, I write separately
to underscore two questions that this case leaves open for a
future case that presents them.
First, to what extent, if any, does § 3771(d)(3) provide a
standalone mechanism for crime victims to file motions
asserting their restitutionary rights after final judgment?
Petitioners contend that, even if their requests to amend the
restitution orders did not fall within § 3664(d)(5),
§ 3771(d)(3) on its own empowered the district court to grant
their requests. The majority opinion does not consider that
38 DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF
question because it holds that § 3664(d)(5) was the proper
vehicle for the district court to consider Petitioners’ requests.
So for our purposes, § 3771(d)(3) comes into play only
because it grants us mandamus authority to review the
district court’s denial of the § 3664(d)(5) petitions. Thus, the
opinion reasons that post-judgment § 3664(d)(5) petitions
are motions filed pursuant to § 3771(d)(3) to explain the
scope of § 3771(d)(3)’s mandamus procedure, not
§ 3771(d)(3)’s separate mechanism for district-court
motions. The opinion does not address whether § 3771(d)(3)
alone allows victims to file post-judgment motions asserting
restitutionary rights when § 3664(d)(5) does not apply. And
there is good reason to think that it does not. Because the
CVRA incorporates the “right to full and timely restitution”
created by the MVRA, see United States v. Kovall, 857 F.3d
1060, 1070 (9th Cir. 2017) (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 3771(a)(6)),
§ 3771(d)(3) likely incorporates § 3664(d)(5)’s limits on the
timely enforcement of that right. Even if the CVRA did not
incorporate the MVRA’s limits by its express terms, it would
be odd to read § 3771(d)(3) to repeal those limits by
implication because we “presume that by passing a new
statute Congress ordinarily does not intend to displace laws
already in effect.” United States v. Novak, 476 F.3d 1041,
1052 (9th Cir. 2007) (en banc); see also Epic Sys. Corp. v.
Lewis, 584 U.S. 497, 510 (2018). But the majority opinion
need not and does not consider this issue, so it remains an
open question for another day.
Second, assuming that § 3771(d)(3) on its own provides
for post-judgment motions asserting restitutionary rights, do
§ 3771(d)(5)’s limits on “motions to reopen a plea or
sentence” apply to such motions? Section 3771(d)(5)
contains a carveout specifying that its limits “do[] not affect
the victim’s right to restitution as provided in title 18.”
DAVIS V. USDC FOR THE N. DIST. OF CA, SF 39
18 U.S.C. § 3771(d)(5). As the majority opinion explains,
this carveout means that—whatever its effect on motions
filed solely under the CVRA—§ 3771(d)(5)’s limits do not
“affect” victims’ ability to assert their “right to restitution”
through other processes “provided in Title 18,” like
§ 3664(d)(5) of the MVRA. But whether § 3771(d)(5) limits
victims’ ability to assert their restitutionary rights under
§ 3771(d)(3) alone remains unresolved.
In sum, the majority opinion primarily addresses
victims’ ability to seek amendment of restitution orders
under § 3664(d)(5) of the MVRA. It considers § 3771(d)(3)
of the CVRA only as the source of our court’s mandamus
authority to correct the district court’s denial of relief under
§ 3664(d)(5). And it discusses § 3771(d)(5) of the CVRA
only to explain that the limits therein do not affect
§ 3664(d)(5)’s preexisting mechanism for amending
restitution orders. With that understanding, I concur in the
majority opinion in full.
Plain English Summary
FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT In re: JOSHUA DAVIS No.
Key Points
01FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT In re: JOSHUA DAVIS No.
023:19-cr-00040- WHO JOSHUA DAVIS, 3:19-cr-00676- WHO Petitioner.
03ORDER AND AMENDED UNITED STATES DISTRICT OPINION COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO, Respondent.
04UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; AHMAD WAGAAFE HARED; MATTHEW GENE DITMAN; ANTHONY FRANCIS FAULK, Real Parties in Interest.
Frequently Asked Questions
FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT In re: JOSHUA DAVIS No.
FlawCheck shows no negative treatment for Davis v. United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco in the current circuit citation data.
This case was decided on August 1, 2025.
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