Judicial Watch Petitions Supreme Court to Hear RICO Lawsuit Against Businesses That Hire Illegal Alien Criminals

WASHINGTON, DC, Jul 31 (MARKET WIRE) --
Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and
prosecutes government corruption, announced today that it has filed a
petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) lawsuit filed by Canyon County, Idaho
against four large employers of illegal aliens (Canyon County v. Syngenta
Seeds, Inc., et al.). Canyon County alleges that during their employment,
some of these illegal aliens committed crimes, thereby costing the county
millions of dollars for criminal justice services as well as health and
welfare services. Judicial Watch filed the petition for Canyon County
with co-counsel Howard W. Foster, a renowned RICO expert with the Chicago
law firm Johnson & Bell, LTD.

In 1996, Congress amended RICO to include certain immigration offenses.
Nonetheless, the District Court and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
dismissed Canyon County's lawsuit, prompting Judicial Watch's Supreme
Court petition. Swift Beef Company is named as one of the defendants.

There are two central questions that arise from the appellate court
ruling. First, does the term "business or property" in RICO apply to the
cost of services provided by a government entity? And, secondly, can a
court simply dismiss a lawsuit based on a lack of injury directly
resulting from the RICO activity, without first determining if any direct
injury had been caused?

With respect to the application of the term "business or property" to
government services, lower courts have been split, prompting the need for
resolution by the Supreme Court. According to Judicial Watch's petition:
The Ninth Circuit Court's conclusion "that a government entity cannot sue
to recover damages unless it is acting as 'an ordinary marketplace actor'
under RICO, conflicts with the Seventh and Eighth Circuits' conclusions
which have rejected the need for any such marketplace or commercial
injury." Judicial Watch's petition also reminded the Supreme Court of its
explicit instruction to lower courts in a previous ruling to "not read
limitations into RICO."

With respect to the question of "proximate cause" or "direct injury,"
Judicial Watch's petition argues that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
bypassed the important analysis as to whether or not a direct injury
resulted from the alleged RICO activity. "Every other Circuit analyzes
proximate causation by first determining if the plaintiff's alleged injury
flows directly from the RICO violation, or is derivative of an injury to
another party," Judicial Watch wrote in its petition.

"RICO is a tool that can be used to fight illegal immigration. Businesses
who hire illegal aliens could be subject to RICO lawsuits," said Judicial
Watch President Tom Fitton. "The lower courts in this case have ignored
the plain language of the RICO statute and we hope the Supreme Court takes
this opportunity to reaffirm the rule of law."

Copies of Judicial Watch's Supreme Court petition can be found at
www.judicialwatch.org.

Contact:
Jill Farrell
Judicial Watch
202-646-5188

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