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Ellingburg v. United States

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Supreme Court of the United States
Ellingburg v. United States
Docket number: 24-482
Term: 2025
Court: United States Supreme Court
Important dates
Argued: October 14, 2025
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts • Clarence Thomas • Samuel Alito • Sonia Sotomayor • Elena Kagan • Neil Gorsuch • Brett Kavanaugh • Amy Coney Barrett • Ketanji Brown Jackson

Ellingburg v. United States is a case argued before the Supreme Court of the United States on October 14, 2025, during the court's October 2025-2026 term.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The issue: The case concerns the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act. Click here to learn more about the case's background.
  • The questions presented: "Whether criminal restitution under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA) is penal for purposes of the Ex Post Facto Clause."[1]
  • The outcome: The appeal is pending adjudication before the U.S. Supreme Court.


    • The case came on a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

    Background

    Case summary

    The following are the parties to this case:[2]

    • Petitioner: Holsey Ellingburg, Jr.
      • Legal counsel: Lisa Schiavo Blatt (Williams & Connolly LLP)
    • Respondent: United States

    The following summary of the case was published by Oyez

    “

    In December 1995, Holsey Ellingburg, Jr. robbed a bank and was indicted in April 1996. He was convicted in August 1996 and sentenced to prison, along with an order to pay over $7,500 in restitution under the Victim and Witness Protection Act (VWPA). Following his release from prison in June 2022, having paid only about one-quarter of the original restitution amount, Mr. Ellingburg filed a motion arguing that enforcement of his restitution order was unlawful. He claimed that the applicable 20-year payment period under the VWPA had expired and that applying a longer restitution term and mandatory interest provision under the later-enacted Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA) violated the Ex Post Facto Clause.

    The district court rejected Mr. Ellingburg’s arguments and upheld the restitution order. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision.[3]

    		”

    To learn more about this case, see the following:

    Timeline

    The following timeline details key events in this case:

    • October 14, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument.
    • April 7, 2025: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.
    • October 25, 2024: Holsey Ellingburg appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

    Questions presented

    The petitioner presented the following questions to the court:[1]

    Questions presented:
    “ Whether criminal restitution under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA) is penal for purposes of the Ex Post Facto Clause.

    [3]

    		”

    Oral argument

    Audio

    Audio of oral argument:[4]



    Transcript

    Transcript of oral argument:[5]

    Outcome

    The case is pending adjudication before the U.S. Supreme Court.

    October term 2025-2026

    See also: Supreme Court cases, October term 2025-2026

    The Supreme Court began hearing cases for the term on October 6, 2025. The court's yearly term begins on the first Monday in October and lasts until the first Monday in October the following year. The court generally releases the majority of its decisions by mid-June.[6]


    See also

    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Supreme Court of the United States, "24-482 ELLINGBURG V. UNITED STATES QP", April 7, 2025
    2. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "No. 24-482," accessed May 5, 2025
    3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    4. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Audio," argued October 14, 2025
    5. ↑ Supreme Court of the United States, "Oral Argument - Transcript," argued October 14, 2025
    6. ↑ SupremeCourt.gov, "The Supreme Court at Work: The Term and Caseload," accessed January 24, 2022
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