September 14, 2005

We don't get the chance every day to side with the Ninth Circuit's Stephen Reinhardt, but here we go: federal racketeering law (RICO) has been "stretched both in scope and meaning far beyond that which Congress originally intended," the judge said. "In my view, it is well past the time for our lawmakers to take another look at RICO and consider amending the statute so as to limit it to its original purpose." Hear, hear! The U.S. Supreme Court is considering an unusual flurry of RICO cases this year and the liberal lawprofs who spoke to the NLJ (Blakey and Chemerinsky) are eager for the justices to expand its scope, which presumably sets them at odds with Judge Reinhardt.