Opinion ID: 3048527
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: United States v. Turkette

Text: In United States v. Turkette, 452 U.S. 576 (1981), the only Supreme Court case directly on point, defendants were alleged to have been an associated-in-fact enterprise within the meaning of §§ 1961(4) and 1962(c). In the words of the statute, they were alleged to have been a “group of individuals associated in fact” for the purpose of engaging in acts constituting “a pattern of racketeering activity.” The First Circuit had agreed with defendants that RICO was designed “solely to protect legitimate business enterprises from infiltration by racketeers and that RICO does not make criminal the participation in an association which performs only illegal acts and which has not infiltrated or attempted to infiltrate a legitimate enterprise.” Id. at 579-80. The Supreme Court reversed, holdODOM v. MICROSOFT CORP. 4973 ing that a “group of individuals associated in fact” was an enterprise under RICO even if the purpose of the enterprise was exclusively criminal. Id. at 593. In the course of its analysis, the Court refuted various analytic mistakes by the court of appeals. The First Circuit’s conclusion that RICO did not apply to wholly illegal enterprises depended in part on its reasoning that a contrary holding would render portions of the statute superfluous. The court of appeals had stated, “If ‘a pattern of racketeering’ can itself be an ‘enterprise’ for purposes of section 1962(c), then the two phrases ‘employed by or associated with any enterprise’ and ‘the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs through [a pattern of racketeering activity]’ add nothing to the meaning of the section. The words of the statute are coherent and logical only if they are read as applying to legitimate enterprises.” Turkette, 452 U.S. at 582 (quoting United States v. Turkette, 632 F.2d 896, 899 (1st Cir. 1980) (alteration in original)). The Supreme Court was at pains to correct the court of appeals’ reading of the statute. It wrote: [The court of appeals’ conclusion] is based on a faulty premise. That a wholly criminal enterprise comes within the ambit of the statute does not mean that a “pattern of racketeering activity” is an “enterprise.” In order to secure a conviction under RICO, the Government must prove both the existence of an “enterprise” and the connected “pattern of racketeering activity.” The enterprise is an entity, for present purposes a group of persons associated together for a common purpose of engaging in a course of con- duct. The pattern of racketeering activity is, on the other hand, a series of criminal acts as defined by the 4974 ODOM v. MICROSOFT CORP. statute. The former is proved by evidence of an ongoing organization, formal or informal, and by evidence that the various associates function as a continuing unit. The latter is proved by evidence of the requisite number of acts of racketeering committed by the participants in the enterprise. While the proof used to establish these separate elements may in particular cases coalesce, proof of one does not necessarily establish the other. The “enterprise” is not the “pattern of racketeering activity”; it is an entity separate and apart from the pattern of activity in which it engages. Id. at 583 (citation omitted; emphasis added). [5] In context, this passage from Turkette is easy to understand. The court of appeals had mistakenly equated the term “enterprise” with the term “pattern of racketeering activity.” The Supreme Court pointed out that the terms refer to two concepts that are “separate and apart” from one another: The “enterprise” is the actor, and the “pattern of racketeering activity” is an activity in which that actor engages. See id. These separate concepts can be expressed grammatically: “Enterprise” is the subject, and “pattern of racketeering activity” is part of the predicate. Actions that form the “pattern of racketeering activity” are often referred to as “predicate” acts, though likely not in the grammatical sense. See, e.g., Mendoza v. Zirkle Fruit Co., 301 F.3d 1163, 1168 (9th Cir. 2002); Howard, 208 F.3d at 746. In the words of the Court, italicized above, “The ‘enterprise’ is not the ‘pattern of racketeering activity’; it is an entity separate and apart from the pattern of activity in which it engages.” Turkette, 452 U.S. at 583. [6] Turkette further explained that proof of a “pattern of racketeering activity” is not, by itself, proof of an “enterprise.” Id. “Enterprise” and “pattern of racketeering activity” are separate elements that require separate proof. In the words of the Court, “[t]he existence of an enterprise at all times ODOM v. MICROSOFT CORP. 4975 remains a separate element which must be proved by the Government.” Id. (stating that “[w]hile the proof used to establish these separate elements [of “enterprise” and “pattern of racketeering activity”] may in particular cases coalesce, proof of one does not necessarily establish the other”).