The Indian Health Service was slow to respond to a request for information in a restitution case that was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday.

The IHS was asked to determine how much it cost to treat a victim who was assaulted by Brian Russell Dolan, a member of the Mescalero Apache Nation of New Mexico. After repeated requests, the agency finally came up with a bill for $105,000, The Albuquerque Journal reported.

By that time, Dolan had already been sentenced to 21 months in prison. But that didn't stop a federal judge from ordering restitution -- eight months later after the August 2007 sentencing.

Dolan argued that the Mandatory Victims Restitution Act requires a judge to determine restitution within 90 days. The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, said the deadline didn't matter because the judge had already indicated he would impose restitution.

Get the Story:
U.S. High Court Backs N.M. Restitution Ruling (The Albuquerque Journal 6/15)
Supreme Court: judges have leeway on criminal restitution deadline (The Christian Science Monitor 6/14)
Supreme Court Upholds Late Restitution Order (Courthouse News Service 6/14)

Supreme Court Decision:
Syllabus | Opinion [Breyer] | Dissent [Roberts]

10th Circuit Decision:
Dolan v. US (June 26, 2009)

Related Stories:
Supreme Court rules against Apache man in restitution case (6/14)
Supreme Court takes up Apache man's restitution case (4/20)
Supreme Court accepts Apache man's restitution case (1/13)