NCJ Number
116234
Journal
Northern Kentucky Law Review Volume: 15 Issue: 3 Dated: (1988) Pages: 585-609
Date Published
1988
Length
25 pages
Annotation
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statutes, when founded upon the predicate offense of obscenity, will have a tendency to inhibit constitutionally protected expression.
Abstract
The Federal RICO statute prescribes criminal sanctions and/or severe civil penalties against persons or entities who engage in 'a pattern of racketeering activity' defined as engaging in at least two incidents of racketeering activity within a 10-year period. 'Racketeering activity' means any act or threat involving 1 of 32 predicate offenses. State legislatures, like Congress, have generally included the offense of 'dealing in obscene matter' as one of the proscribed predicate offenses. Regarding obscenity, the direct effect of RICO sanctions and remedies is the closure of bookstores and theaters. RICO's injunctive and forfeiture remedies threaten public access to controversial materials and divergent opinions. The suppression of entire bookstores inevitably affects protected as well as any unprotected expression. 140 footnotes.