Thurgood Marshall

“ It is not an irrational or inconsistent policy choice to permit prosecution of criminal offenses during the pendency of a bankruptcy action and at the same time to preclude probation officials from enforcing restitution orders while a debtor seeks relief under Chapter 13. ”

“ As the Court stated in Kelly, permitting discharge of criminal restitution obligations may hamper the flexibility of state criminal judges in fashioning appropriate sentences and require state prosecutors to participate in federal bankruptcy proceedings to safeguard state interests. 479 U.S., at 49, 107 S.Ct., at 360. Certainly the legitimate state interest in avoiding such intrusions is not lessened simply because the offender files under Chapter 13 rather than Chapter 7. Nonetheless, the concerns animating Younger cannot justify rewriting the Code to avoid federal intrusion. ”

“ But the language employed to define "claim" in § 101 (4) (A) makes no reference to purpose. The plain meaning of a "right to payment" is nothing more nor less than an enforceable obligation, regardless of the objectives the State seeks to serve in imposing the obligation.
Nor does the State's method of enforcing restitution obligations suggest that such obligations are not "claims." Although neither the Probation Department nor the victim can enforce restitution obligations in civil proceedings, Commonwealth v. ”

“ Our cases express a deep reluctance to interpret a statutory provision so as to render superfluous other provisions in the same enactment. See, e.g., Mackey v. Lanier Collection Agency & Service, Inc., 486 U.S. 825, 837, 108 S.Ct. ”