Gavin Michael Harold v. United States

In 2018, Congress enacted the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act, which established a mandatory minimum restitution amount of $3,000 per victim for certain child exploitation offenses. See 18 U.S.C. § 2259(b)(2)(B). As this Court has repeatedly held, the Sixth Amendment guarantees a right to have a jury find all the facts necessary to criminal punishment. Thus, a jury must find any fact that increases the statutory maximum penalty, Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), as well as any fact that increases the mandatory minimum, Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99, 103 (2013). This bedrock constitutional rule applies “broadly” to all forms of criminal punishment, including monetary penalties like fines. Southern Union Co. v. United States, 567 U.S. 343, 350 (2012). The question presented is: Does the Sixth Amendment require a jury to find the facts needed to justify a restitution order meeting or exceeding § 2259(b)(2)(B)’s $3,000 mandatory minimum?