Wolk's Scholarship Cited by U.S. Court of Appeals
A publication by Bruce Wolk, a professor of law and legal scholar with special interests in pension and employee benefits law, was cited in a case filed February 22, 2007, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Pension and Employee Benefit Law (2nd ed. 1995), co-authored with John H. Langbein, was cited by both the majority and dissenting opinion in United States of America v. Raymond P. Novak.
The court was asked to determine whether--and if so, under what circumstances--a criminal defendant's retirement benefits are available as a source of funds to compensate crime victims. It was decided that criminal restitution orders can be enforced by garnishing retirement funds, but with the funds only payable when the defendant has a current, unilateral right to receive payments under the terms of the retirement plan.
United States v. Novak/February 22, 2007
The court was asked to determine whether--and if so, under what circumstances--a criminal defendant's retirement benefits are available as a source of funds to compensate crime victims. It was decided that criminal restitution orders can be enforced by garnishing retirement funds, but with the funds only payable when the defendant has a current, unilateral right to receive payments under the terms of the retirement plan.
United States v. Novak/February 22, 2007