OR · 18usc1962:racketeering.obstruction
Perjury or discovery misconduct alone is not a predicate act unless it constitutes indictable obstruction of justice under § 1503 or witness tampering under § 1512.
Exact element source
racketeering activitySource:
docroot/ir/usc/title18.jsonl#title18_sec1962; Unicode character offsets [148:169] (end exclusive); SHA-256 6caae47f43b5ab0899b660616e298363bd36f9f540d915c2be11eb7126f5e27d.Routes and case patterns
| Route | Definition | Merits instance blocks | Distinct merits cases | Examples (up to 3 cases per count group) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| _whole accepted; provisional (1 case) | The element is decided as a whole: the reasoning turns on no narrower doctrinal sub-question that distinguishes it from any other application of this element. | 0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1 | 0 | Used only in non-merits blocks (1). Excluded context examples:Midwest Grinding Co. v. Spitz — 976 F.2d 1016 (1992) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1992 — not reached · basis not recorded (18usc1962: author: Fable · QA: PASS (QA1, neov2/qa/cases-v1-QA1.md)) · rule-announced/merits · not counted |
How courts decided this element
| Case | Element | Holding and scope | Pattern | Exact source quotations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midwest Grinding Co. v. Spitz — 976 F.2d 1016 (1992) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1992 — not reached (18usc1962: author: Fable · QA: PASS (QA1, neov2/qa/cases-v1-QA1.md)) | Obstruction of justice / witness tampering predicate (18 U.S.C. §§ 1503, 1512) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts rule-announced / merits claim: (c),(d); count: the litigation cover-up; subject: count=the litigation cover-up | perjury-as-predicate/only-via-mail-fraud-or-section-1503 | For starters, we know that telling a lie or committing perjury is not per se a RICO predicate act for one simple reason: it is not included among the list of predicate acts in 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1).Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_976.jsonl#/f2d/976/1016-01; Unicode character offsets [14743:14939] (end exclusive); SHA-256 ebc98ea70879c4cb40e7f64b87cbfd47e72732fe1a73dbca8733e49576748b79.We need not decide that issue because, as we discuss more fully below, even assuming the defendants’ deeds qualify as predicate acts, Midwest still fails to show the requisite pattern of racketeering.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_976.jsonl#/f2d/976/1016-01; Unicode character offsets [17495:17695] (end exclusive); SHA-256 ebc98ea70879c4cb40e7f64b87cbfd47e72732fe1a73dbca8733e49576748b79. |
Court interpretations
interpretation
For starters, we know that telling a lie or committing perjury is not per se a RICO predicate act for one simple reason: it is not included among the list of predicate acts in 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1).
Midwest Grinding Co. v. Spitz — 976 F.2d 1016 (1992) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1992 (18usc1962: author: Fable · QA: PASS (QA1, neov2/qa/cases-v1-QA1.md))
For starters, we know that telling a lie or committing perjury is not per se a RICO predicate act for one simple reason: it is not included among the list of predicate acts in 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1).Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/f2d_976.jsonl#/f2d/976/1016-01; Unicode character offsets [14743:14939] (end exclusive); SHA-256 ebc98ea70879c4cb40e7f64b87cbfd47e72732fe1a73dbca8733e49576748b79.Perjury or discovery misconduct alone is not a predicate act unless it constitutes indictable obstruction of justice under § 1503 or witness tampering under § 1512.