Law Commons^™

The Defense Case For Rico Reform, Terrance G. Reed

Vanderbilt Law Review

Frequent use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act of 1970 (RICO)' by government and private litigants has prompted a chorus of criticism during the last five years. This criticism has not been restricted to the narrow confines of the legal profession;many respectable newspapers recently have issued calls for the outright repeal of RICO. Attorneys who regularly defend against criminal or civil RICO allegations cannot take credit for the increasing dissatisfaction with RICO. Rather, it is the successes, and indeed the excesses, of RICO's proponents that have tarnished the statute's image. RICO's revolutionary application to increasingly broad areas of …

A Conceptual, Practical, And Political Guide To Rico Reform, Gerard E. Lynch

Vanderbilt Law Review

RICO is nearing its twentieth birthday,' but it may not be a happy one. In fact, 'tis the season for critics of RICO to be, if not jolly, at least highly active. A House subcommittee and the Senate Judiciary Committee have held hearings on RICO reform, the popular and business press has published numerous debates and criticisms involving fairly arcane points of civil and criminal law, scholars and lawyers have filled law reviews and legal newspapers with articles often critical of the statute, and the pressure has been building for statutory changes.

As the pressure for change has intensified, and …