![]() So we've seen this before.įADEL: Fred Smith Jr. And as we speak, this office is bringing charges against a group called YSL, which is a hip-hop association of individuals that prosecutors are calling a gang. And that was seen as somewhat bold and aggressive at the time. Ten years ago, she brought RICO charges against teachers and administrators who changed students' test scores and the like. So this particular prosecutor, Fani Willis, the district attorney, has used RICO throughout her career in ways that might be deemed creative. But would the RICO act typically be used in a case like this, conspiring in this way? But the RICO charge takes up the bulk of the indictment.įADEL: And obviously, the pattern and the crime here is the accusation of trying to overturn that defeat in 2020. And, of course, there's a lot of other charges here, too. So long as these individuals acted with a common purpose and a common scheme and engaged in that sort of pattern to achieve an illegal objective, that is sufficient to demonstrate a RICO charge. But under Georgia law, two illegal activities is sufficient to demonstrate such a pattern. And they need to show - the prosecutors need to show a pattern. And the Georgia law in OSGA 16-14-3, it lays out the various crimes that can qualify. SMITH: Yeah, so they need to demonstrate a pattern of illegal activities. ![]() To get a conviction in a case like this, what type of case would they have to present? SMITH: It is in Georgia, certainly compared to its federal counterpart.įADEL: What is specifically different? I mean, what is specifically needed to build a case? So you have this indictment. And all the prosecutors need to show in order to bring a RICO charge is that these individuals were acting with a common purpose and that they engaged in a pattern of illegal activities in order to achieve that common illegal purpose.įADEL: So the bar for an indictment under the RICO Act is quite low, it sounds like. So they don't have to be a kind of formal enterprise. And part of that is because the prosecutors simply need to demonstrate that there is an enterprise, meaning that these individuals were associated in fact. Which is perhaps why we're seeing it brought at the state level and not at the federal level. So Georgia's RICO Act is broader than its federal counterpart. Pleasure to be here.įADEL: So if you could just start by telling us more about the RICO Act. Thanks for being on the program.įRED SMITH JR: Good morning. He's a constitutional law scholar and professor at the Emory University School of Law. And last night, when Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis announced the charges, she framed them this way.įANI WILLIS: The defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia's presidential election result.įADEL: To talk about this case and the RICO Act, Fred Smith Jr. It's typically used by prosecutors to go after organized crime involving multiple defendants. That stands for Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. ![]() ![]() Now, this case is being brought under the RICO Act in Georgia. Those charges include conspiracy to commit election fraud, filing false statements and forgery. And he's charged, along with 18 others, in a sprawling indictment totaling 41 counts. Trump's accused of a conspiracy to overturn his 2020 defeat. Former President Donald Trump has been indicted again, the fourth time since April.
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