NCJ Number
115858
Journal
American Journal of Trial Advocacy Volume: 11 Issue: 2 Dated: (Fall 1987) Pages: 245-275
Date Published
1987
Length
31 pages
Annotation
The United States Supreme Court's 1985 decision in Sedima, S.P.L.R. v. Imrex Company has substantially widened the areas and types of factual circumstances to which the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act can be applied.
Abstract
Thus, practicing lawyers should consider their clients' activities and potential claims under the RICO statute. The five basic elements that must be stated and proved in every civil RICO case are a person, a pattern of racketeering activity, an effect on interstate enterprise, one of four types of actions, and an injury to the plaintiff's business or property through the actions. The actions most often invoked by RICO plaintiffs are mail fraud, wire fraud, and fraud in the sale of securities. However, innovative attorneys have also invoked other offenses, such as murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, and drug trafficking. The types of offenses that may most often be adapted to RICO use are bribery, extortion, theft from interstate shipment, embezzlement, and interstate transportation of stolen property. In these types of cases, RICO provides aggrieved parties relief through a 'piggyback' use of the criminal statutes. Lawyers should analyze cases carefully, because they may not immediately recognize certain situations as potential RICO actions. Hypothetical case examples and 106 footnotes.