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Rico Had A Birthday! A Fifty-Year Retrospective Of Questions Answered And Open, Randy D. Gordon

Marquette Law Review

The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) came into

the world in 1970, a time of great social upheaval that was accompanied by

shifting attitudes towards both crime and civil litigation. From the outset, the

statute’s complexity, ambiguity, and uncertain purpose have confounded courts

and commentators. At least some doubts as to the statute’s meaning and

application arise because it has criminal and civil components that subject it

to the twin—yet antithetical—social impulses to be “tough on crime” while

containing a perceived “litigation explosion.” In this Article, I situate RICO

in this larger context and offer that context as …