Restitution-- No Sixth Amendment Problems Here

In United States v. Sosebee, Nos. 03-1923/2219 (6th Cir. August 12, 2005), the Sixth Circuit joined several other circuits and concludes that restitution does not present any Sixth Amendment/Booker problem. Recognizing that "under Sixth Circuit case law, restitution consitutes punishment," the court nonetheless found no Sixth Amendment/Booker violation occurs when a judge imposes restitution, for several reasons: there's no statutory maximum under the restitution statutes; restitution is authorized by statute; and the VWRA and MVRA specifically state that the restitution should be "determined by the court."