United States v. Williams

POSNER, Circuit Judge.

The question presented by this appeal is whether a judge may, as a condition of supervised release, order the defendant to reimburse “buy money” dispensed by the government (and not recovered by it) in its investigation of the defendant.

The defendant was prosecuted for being a felon in possession of firearms. A confidential informant had bought three guns from him, for $400 apiece, with money supplied by the government. The purchases provided the essential evidence of the defendant’s guilt, although the $1200 that the defendant had received from the confidential…