Journal Article

GEORGIA (RICO) ON MY MIND 1

Moses, Tamika Griffin

2025

نظرة عامة

The Georgia RICO indictments against President Donald Trump, the Stop Cop City Protestors, and hip-hop entertainer Young Thug prompted debates regarding the proper scope ofprosecutorial discretion and the legitimacy of the charges. This Article adds two critiques to the discourse. First, it posits that the expansive scope of the Georgia RICO statute not only provides cover for prosecutors to legitimize their charging decisions, but it also permits other system actors, particularly legislators, to challenge the legitimacy of the prosecutions in which they disagree. By connecting the Georgia RICO Indictments to the ongoing debate regarding the proper scope of prosecutorial discretion, the first part of this Article calls for greater focus on the ultimate purveyor of discretion and legitimacy-the law itself. Second, this Article challenges the overall utility of the legitimacy label in evaluating criminal prosecutions in the court of public opinion. It argues that, when viewed through a critical lens, the Georgia RICO Indictments illustrate how certain prosecutorial decisions are used to perpetuate racial and social hierarchies under the cloak of legitimacy. These hierarchies are promoted by politicians and other leaders using their social media, news conferences, floor debates, and various platforms to publicly legitimize certain actions and decisions that occur within the criminal legal system. This phenomenon, which I identify as structural legitimacy messaging, labels communities of color, as well as certain protestors, as the appropriate targets of the criminal legal system. This Article contends that while repealing the Georgia RICO statute, and similar laws, would be a starting point towards substantive reform in the criminal legal system, the eradication of structural legitimacy messaging would result in greater strides towards equality and true systemic reform.

• الناشر: Boston University School of Law
• موضوع: Courts / Criminalization / Debates / Decisions / District attorneys / Equality / Eradication / Hierarchies / Hip hop culture / Indictments / Labeling / Legal system / Legitimacy / Political campaigns / Politicians / Press conferences / Prosecutions / Public opinion / Racketeering / Reforms / Rule of law / Scope / Social media / Social networks / Trump, Donald J / Young Thug (rapper)