NCJ Number
121940
Journal
Boston University Law Review Volume: 69 Issue: 2 Dated: (March 1989) Pages: 389-434
Date Published
1989
Length
46 pages
Annotation
When provisions of the Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) and similar anti-racketeering State laws are used to combat the dissemination of sexually-explicit material, the government can violate a defendant's first amendment rights.
Abstract
Use of RICO's pre-judgment provisions, including seizures, temporary restraining orders, and padlocking orders can violate the defendant's first amendment rights of freedom of speech and the press. Additionally, RICO's post-judgment remedies, including forfeiture, can constitute prior restraint which is impermissible under the first amendment's freedom of speech and press guarantees when applied to violations of criminal obscenity laws. The article examines the background of the Federal and State RICO statutes and focuses on Fort Wayne Books, Inc. v. Indiana, a 1989 Supreme Court decision dealing with the issue of RICO provisions used to combat obscenity. In the Fort Wayne Books case, the Court held that pre-judgment seizures of expressive materials under RICO statutes were unconstitutional. While the Court has yet to decide whether the Constitution forbids post-judgment forfeiture of expressive materials under RICO provisions, the article argues that such seizures would violate first amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. 299 footnotes.