National Organization for Women v. Scheidler

National Organization for Women v. Scheidler
Argued December 8, 1993
Decided January 24, 1994
Full case name National Organization for Women, Inc., et al. v. Joseph Scheidler, et al.
Citations 510 U.S. 249 (more)
114 S. Ct. 798, 127 L. Ed. 2d 99, 1994 U.S. LEXIS 1143
Holding
The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act applies to enterprises without economic motives, including anti-abortion protesters. Seventh Circuit reversed.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
Harry Blackmun · John P. Stevens
Sandra Day O'Connor · Antonin Scalia
Anthony Kennedy · David Souter
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Case opinions
Majority Rehnquist, joined by unanimous
Concurrence Souter, joined by Kennedy
Laws applied
18 U.S.C. § 1961–1968 Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)

National Organization for Women v. Scheidler, 510 U.S. 249 (1994), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) could apply to enterprises without economic motives; pro-life protesters could thus be prosecuted under it. An organization without an economic motive can still affect interstate or foreign commerce and thus satisfy the Act's definition of a racketeering enterprise.

The Court did not issue judgment on whether or not the Pro-Life Action Network, the organization in question, had committed actions that could be prosecuted under RICO.

G. Robert Blakey argued on behalf of Joseph Scheidler, while Miguel Estrada represented the United States as amicus curiae in favor of reversal.

Further reading

Joseph Scheidler#NOW_v._Scheidler discusses the wider course of the litigation, before and after the 1994 Supreme Court decision.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.