NCJ Number
130264
Journal
St. John's Law Review Volume: 64 Issue: 4 Dated: special issue (Fall 1990) Pages: 779-796
Date Published
1990
Length
18 pages
Annotation
Various judicial interpretations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act have created confusion over the statute's pattern of racketeering activity requirement.
Abstract
Vagueness challenges to criminal laws are based on two distinct, constitutional due process considerations. First, the vagueness doctrine is designed to ensure that individuals are properly warned ex ante of the criminal consequences of their conduct. Second, vague laws are constitutionally suspect because they delegate excessive enforcement discretion to the executive branch of government. Given the difficulty and potential consequences of a serious vagueness challenge to RICO's pattern of racketeering activity requirement, courts have struggled to find alternative explanations for the pattern requirement. Three alternatives are emerging: reliance on precedent; resort to an "as applied" analysis; and emphasis in the due process inquiry on predicate offenses rather than on the RICO violation. Courts have been reluctant to address constitutional challenges to RICO, perhaps because disagreement over the meaning of RICO's elastic provisions has discouraged courts from confronting such challenges. 89 footnotes