← Legal Glossary
Mandatory Victims Restitution Act (MVRA)
Definition
A 1996 federal statute that requires courts to order defendants convicted of certain crimes to pay full restitution to their victims. Unlike its predecessor, the VWPA, the MVRA removes judicial discretion over whether and how much restitution to impose, making full victim compensation mandatory.
Examples
- •The MVRA is the statute being applied retroactively to Ellingburg, who committed his crime before the MVRA existed