NCJ Number
148773
Journal
Florida Law Review Volume: 45 Issue: 3 Dated: (July 1993) Pages: 531-541
Date Published
1993
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This analysis of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Alexander v. United States in 1993 notes that this decision extended the Excessive Fines Clause to protect Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) defendants and made it possible for members of sophisticated, organized criminal ventures to profit from their activities.
Abstract
This case involved forfeiture proceedings of a petitioner convicted on three counts of violating RICO. The trial court ordered the mandatory forfeiture of the petitioner's businesses and business assets, in addition to nearly $9 million in racketeering-related earnings. The Court extended the applicability of the Excessive Fines Clause beyond that in previous decisions and held that the Excessive Fines Clause analysis applied. As a result, racketeering defendants may have gained an opportunity to devise ways to keep their most previous commodities: illegal profits. RICO's effectiveness in addressing organized crime depends on how the courts of appeals interpret and apply an Excessive Fines Clause analysis. Therefore, this new area of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence should be defined very carefully. The analysis the courts choose will greatly affect both individual liberties and the government's ability to address organized crime. Footnotes