NCJ Number
109437
Journal
Emory Law Journal Volume: 36 Issue: 3 Dated: (Summer 1987) Pages: 781-792
Date Published
1987
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The issue of forfeiture of legal fees under Federal racketeering statutes is not a constitutional or statutory question; instead, the real issue is how legal fees shall be determined in our society.
Abstract
The three alternatives are to determine legal fees by market forces, to determine legal fees by political decisions regarding salaries of public defenders, or to determine them by the judiciary on a case by case basis of appointing counsel or by some review of the free market. Forfeiture cases involve professional offenders, particularly drug dealers. Their criminal enterprises involve patterns of offenses. In 1970, Congress drafted two laws to deal with these organizations: the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statute and the Continuing Criminal Enterprise (CCE) statute. The Comprehensive Forfeiture Act of 1984 was intended to make these laws work. However, the constitution and materials relating to the Sixth Amendment say nothing about how lawyers' fees should be set. The real issue is how to identify and balance the interests involved. Letting the free market resolve the issue is the preference of defense attorneys and should prevail. However, others believe the opposite: that all these cases should be handled by appointed counsel or public defenders. The issue remains unresolved. 16 footnotes.