NCJ Number
133163
Journal
San Diego Law Review Volume: 27 Issue: 1 Dated: (1990) Pages: 183-207
Date Published
1990
Length
25 pages
Annotation
Courts have repeatedly upheld RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) convictions in the face of criminal defendant arguments that RICO's cumulative and consecutive sentences, special forfeiture provisions, and strong penalties are unconstitutional.
Abstract
One reason for upholding RICO convictions is that organized crime poses a serious threat to legitimate businesses and to society as a whole. Moreover, Congress continues to increase the number of offenses that may be classified as a RICO offense. Some current legislative efforts are attempting to increase the possible penalty under RICO to life imprisonment in certain circumstances. While commentators have expressed concern about the need to curb RICO's breadth on the civil side, this concern does not appear to prevail on the criminal side. There are two views in Federal circuits regarding RICO convictions: the majority view which upholds the RICO conviction regardless of subsequent court action on a predicate conviction; and the minority view which vacates the RICO conviction if a predicate offense is vacated on appeal. The majority view is considered to be more effective. If a defendant is charged and convicted of substantive counts which also constituted the predicate offense for the RICO conviction, the RICO conviction should remain valid if at least two of the substantive counts remain in effect after appellate review. If Congress is unwilling to go this far, it should at least require special verdicts in all criminal RICO cases. 153 footnotes