First Amendment Freedoms Act of 1998

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act maybe cited as the ``First Amendment Freedoms Act of 
1998.''.

SEC. 2. EXTORTION DEFINED FOR PURPOSES OF RICO.

    Section 1961 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ``or threat 
        involving'' and inserting ``constituting a conspiracy, an 
        endeavor, or the commission of'';
            (2) by striking ``As used in'' and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b), as used in''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Extortion.--Notwithstanding section 1951, 1952, 1956, or 1957 
or any other provision of law, conduct, in whole or in part, that is 
alleged to be a violation of section 1951, 1952, 1956, or 1957 shall 
not be construed to be racketeering activity for purposes of this 
chapter, to the extent that the conduct includes conduct alleged to be 
extortion, unless the conduct alleged to be extortion includes the 
trespatory taking by any person of property (tangible or intangible) of 
another, either for that person or for another.''.

SEC. 3. PLEADINGS, DISCOVERY, EVIDENCE, AND APPEALS.

    (a) Pleadings.--Rule 9 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(i) Constitutionally Protected Conduct.--In any civil action or 
proceeding involving conduct that includes the protected exercise of 
freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceable assembly, or petition of 
government for redress of grievance, any averment of unprotected 
conduct of any natural person, its proximate consequences, the 
association, if any, of any natural person with another, the unlawful 
objective, if any, of the association, the state of mind of any natural 
person with regard to an unlawful objective of the association, and the 
evidence on which the averment of state of mind is based shall be 
stated, to the maximum extent practicable, with particularity in the 
complaint.''.
    (b) Discovery.--Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(h) Constitutionally Protected Conduct.--Discovery may not be 
obtained that unduly interferes with the protected exercise of freedom 
of religion, speech, press, or peaceable assembly, or petition of 
government for redress of grievance.''.
    (c) Evidence.--Rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``Although'' and inserting the following:
    ``(a) In General.--Although''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Constitutionally Protected Conduct.--Evidence may not be 
admitted that would unduly interfere with or unduly put in issue the 
protected exercise of freedom of religion, speech, press, or peaceable 
assembly, or petition of government for redress of grievance.''.
    (d) Appeals.--Section 1292(a) of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking 
        ``from:'' and inserting ``from the following:'';
            (2) in each of paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking the 
        semicolon at the end and inserting a period; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Interlocutory orders of the district courts of the 
        United States granting or enforcing discovery or admitting 
        evidence that is claimed to unduly interfere with or unduly put 
        in issue the protected exercise of freedom of religion, speech, 
        press, or peaceable assembly, or petition of government for 
        redress of grievance.''.

SEC. 4. LIABILITY LIMITATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Part VI of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

  ``CHAPTER 180--FIRST AMENDMENT DEMONSTRATIONS AND RELATED LITIGATION

``Sec.
``4001. First amendment demonstrations and related litigation.
``Sec. 4001. First amendment demonstrations and related litigation
    ``(a) In any civil action or proceeding that involves conduct 
consisting the protected exercise of freedom of religion, speech, 
press, or peaceable assembly, or petition of government for redress of 
grievance--
            ``(1) no natural person may be held liable in damages or 
        for other relief--
                    ``(A) for the consequences of his protected 
                conduct; or
                    ``(B) for the consequences of his unprotected 
                conduct;
                except for those consequences established by clear and 
                convincing evidence to be proximately caused by his 
                unprotected conduct;
            ``(2) no natural person may be held liable in damages or 
        for other relief because of his associations with another where 
        another engages in unlawful conduct, unless it is established 
        by clear and convincing evidence that the natural person 
        intended, through the associations of that natural person with 
        the other proximately to cause or further the unlawful conduct;
            ``(3) no natural person may be held liable in damages or 
        for other relief based on the conduct of another, unless the 
        fact finder finds by clear and convincing evidence that the 
        natural person authorized, requested, commanded, ratified, or 
        recklessly tolerated the unlawful conduct of the other;
            ``(4) no natural person may be held liable in damages or 
        for other relief, unless the fact finder makes particularized 
        findings sufficient to permit full and complete review of the 
        record, if any, of the conduct of the natural person; and
            ``(5) notwithstanding any other provision of law 
        authorizing the recovery of costs, including attorney fees, the 
        court may not award costs, including attorney fees, if that 
        award would be unjust because of special circumstances, 
        including the relevant disparate economic position of the  
        parties or the disproportionate amount of the costs, including 
        attorney fees, to the nature of the damage or other relief 
        obtained.
    ``(b) For the purpose of this section, a natural person shall be 
construed to be acting recklessly if that natural person consciously 
disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk, such that the conduct 
of the natural person constitutes a gross deviation from the standard 
of conduct that a law-abiding natural person would observe in the 
situation of the natural person.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The analysis for title 28, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting immediately after the item 
relating to chapter 179 the following:

``180. First Amendment Demonstrations and Related Litigation    4001''.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), this Act and 
the amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of 
enactment of this Act.
    (b) Exception.--The amendments made by section 2 of this Act shall 
apply for purposes of any proceeding under section 1964(c) of title 18, 
United States Code, to any conduct in violation of section 1962 of that 
title that occurs before, on, or after the date of enactment of this 
Act, unless that prior conduct has been the subject of a final judgment 
by a court of competent jurisdiction and all avenues of appellate 
review have been fully exhausted before the date of enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY.

    If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by this Act, or the 
application of such provision or amendment to any person or 
circumstance is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act, 
the amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions 
of such to any person or circumstance shall not be affected thereby.

Summary: First Amendment Freedoms Act of 1998 - Amends the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act to revise the definition of "racketeering activity" to cover any act constituting a conspiracy, an endeavor, or the commission of (currently, any act or threat involving) murder, kidnapping, extortion, and other specified crimes. 
Specifies that conduct alleged to be a violation of prohibitions against interference with commerce by threats or violence, interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises, laundering of monetary instruments, or engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity shall not be construed to be racketeering activity to the extent that the conduct includes conduct alleged to be extortion, unless such conduct includes the trespatory taking by any person of the property of another. 
(Sec. 3) Amends:  (1) rule 9 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) to require that, in any civil action or proceeding involving conduct that includes the protected exercise of freedom of religion, speech, press, peaceable assembly, or petition of government for redress of grievance (protected rights), any averment of unprotected conduct of a natural person, its proximate consequences, any association of a natural person with another, any unlawful objective of the association, state of mind with regard to such an unlawful objective, and the evidence on which the averment of state of mind is based shall be stated, to the maximum extent practicable, with particularity in the complaint; (2) FRCP 26 to bar discovery that unduly interferes with protected rights; and (3) rule 403 of the Federal Rules of Evidence to bar the admission of evidence that would unduly interfere with or unduly put in issue protected rights. 
Amends the Federal judicial code to grant courts of appeals jurisdiction of appeals from interlocutory orders of the district courts of the United States granting or enforcing discovery or admitting evidence that is claimed to unduly interfere with or unduly put in issue protected rights. 
(Sec. 4) Amends the judicial code to set forth liability limitations with respect to first amendment demonstrations and related litigation.