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imposing criminal fines than in imposing criminal forfeitures.
The point, however, is not the degree of discretion a judge has
in imposing a criminal fine but whether the purpose of the
criminal fine is punishment.
The legislative history of 18 U.S.C. sections 3622 and 3623
indicates that fines imposed under these provisions were intended
by Congress to constitute punishment for criminal acts. In 1984,
Congress passed the Criminal Fine Enforcement Act of 1984,
Pub. L. 98-596, 98 Stat. 3134, in order to encourage the more
frequent use of fines as an alternative to, or as an addition to,
imprisonment. See H. Rept. 98-906, 1 (1984). Pursuant to
section 6(a) of the Criminal Fine Enforcement Act of 1984, 98
Stat. 3136, sections 3622 and 3623 were added to 18 U.S.C.
chapter 229 (Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures). Under 18 U.S.C.
section 3623, the amount of criminal fines that a judge could
impose on individuals or corporations was increased. See H.
Rept. 98-906, supra at 15-16. The House report accompanying the
Criminal Fine Enforcement Act of 1984 explains that under prior
law fines were regarded as too low to deter criminal conduct, and
hence Congress established higher maximum fine levels. H. Rept.
98-906, supra at 16.
The increased maximum fine levels under 18 U.S.C. section
3623 were tempered somewhat by 18 U.S.C. section 3622, which
required judges, in determining appropriate fines to impose, to
consider factors such as a convicted offender's ability to pay
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