4447 CORP. v. Goldsmith

479 N.E.2d 578, 1985 Ind. App. LEXIS 2501
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 12, 1985
Docket4-1283A415. [No. 3-484A106 Before Consolidation]
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 479 N.E.2d 578 (4447 CORP. v. Goldsmith) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
4447 CORP. v. Goldsmith, 479 N.E.2d 578, 1985 Ind. App. LEXIS 2501 (Ind. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinions

YOUNG, Judge.

In each of these cases, the state has instituted proceedings against adult bookstores under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Aet (RICO), IND. CODE 85-45-6-1 et seq., seeking remedies available under the Civil Remedies for Racketeering Activity (CRRA) statute, IND.CODE 34-4-30.5-1 et seq. The defendants bring interlocutory appeals from the trial courts' denials of their motions to vacate injunctive orders providing for, inter alia, the padlocking of bookstores and seizure of the contents thereof. We have consolidated these appeals in order to consider defendants' common challenge to the constitutionality of the RICO and CRRA statutes under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

engaging in at least two (2) incidents of racketeering activity that have the same or similar intent, result, accomplice, victim, or method of commission, or that are otherwise interrelated by distinguishing characteristics that are not isolated incidents; however, the incidents are a pattern of racketeering activity only if at least one (1) of the incidents occurred after August 31, 1980, and if the last of the incidents occurred within five (5) years after a prior incident of racketeering activity. IC 35-45-6-1.

Marion County Prosecutor Stephen Goldsmith initiated the first of these actions on August 1, 1988, when he filed a complaint in the Marion Circuit Court against the individual and corporate defendants, owners and operators of three adult bookstores. The complaint alleged that the bookstores constituted "an illegal enterprise"1 and that the defendants had engaged in "a pattern of racketeering activity"2 in violation of IC 85-45-6-1 et seq. These RICO provisions create an offense of "corrupt business influence," a Class C felony, committed by a person:

(1) who has knowingly or intentionally received any proceeds directly or indirectly derived from a pattern of racketeering activity, and who uses or invests those proceeds or the proceeds derived from them to acquire an interest in real property or to establish or to operate an enterprise;
(2) who through a pattern of racketeering activity, knowingly or intentionally acquires or maintains, either directly or indirectly, an interest in or control of real property or an enterprise; or
(3) who is employed by or associated with an enterprise, and who knowingly or intentionally conducts or otherwise participates in the activities of that enter[581]*581prise through a pattern of racketeering activity; ....

IC 835-45-6-2. The statute enumerates various predicate offenses which constitute "racketeering activity," including obscenity violations under IND.CODE 35-30-10.1-2 (repealed 1983 Acts, P.L. 811; see now IND.CODE 35-49-8-1).

Goldsmith in his complaint sought civil remedies created by the Civil Remedies for Racketeering Activity Act. Under IC 34-4-80.5-2, which provides for injunctive relief in response to RICO violations, the trial court, upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that a RICO violation has occurred may:

(1) order a defendant to divest himself of any interest in any enterprise or real property;
(2) impose reasonable restrictions upon the future activities or investments of a defendant, including prohibiting a defendant from engaging in the same type of endeavor as the enterprise in which he was engaged in violation of IC 85-45-6-2;
(8) order the dissolution or reorganization of any enterprise;
(4) order the suspension or revocation of a license, permit, or prior approval granted to any enterprise by any agency of the state;
(5) order the forfeiture of the charter of a corporation organized under the laws of Indiana, or the revocation of a certificate authorizing a foreign corporation to conduct business within the state, upon finding that the board of directors or a managerial agent acting on behalf of the corporation, in conducting the affairs of the corporation, has authorized or engaged in conduct in violation of IC 35-45-6-2 and that, for the prevention of future criminal activity, the public interest requires the charter of the corporation forfeited and the corporation dissolved or the certificate revoked; and (6) make any other order or judgment that the court considers appropriate.

The CRRA statute further authorizes the prosecuting attorney to seek forfeiture of property incident to corrupt business influence, and to obtain a court order seizing property subject to forfeiture, under IC 34-4-830.5-8:

(a) The prosecuting attorney in a county in which any of the property is located, may bring an action for the forfeiture of any property used in the course of, intended for use in the course of, derived from, or realized through, conduct in violation of IC 85-45-6-2. An action for forfeiture may be brought in any circuit or superior court in a county in which any of the property is located. Upon a showing by a preponderance of the evidence that the property in question was used in the course of, intended for use in the course of, derived from, or realized through, conduct in violation of IC 35-45-6-2, the court shall order the property forfeited to the state, and. shall specify the manner of disposition of the property including the manner of disposition if the property is not transferable for value. The court shall order forfeitures and dispositions under this section with due provision for the rights of innocent persons.
(b) When an action is filed under subsection (a), the prosecutor may move for an order to have property subject to forfeiture seized by a law enforcement agency. The judge shall issue such an order upon a showing of probable cause to believe that a violation of IC 85-45-6-2 involving the property in question has occurred.

Pursuant to this authority, Goldsmith filed along with his complaint a Petition for Seizure of Property Subject to Forfeiture, incorporating by reference the allegations of the complaint and of the probable cause affidavit. This petition alleged that the defendants intended soon to open an additional adult bookstore in furtherance of their "racketeering activity", ie. "dissemination of obscene material." The petition also asserted that the new bookstore contained numerous obscene items, none of which were specified, and cited possession of these allegedly obscene materials as [582]*582probable cause to establish RICO violations.

The probable cause affidavit upon which this petition for seizure relied stated that police had visited the two operating adult bookstores, where they observed sexually-oriented books, magazines, films and videotapes. They purchased four sexually-explicit movies, which they submitted to the court. Visiting the construction site of the soon-to-open bookstore, they were informed that sexually-oriented materials would be available there as well. The police further alleged that the three bookstores constituted a single enterprise under common ownership and control.

(On the basis of these allegations, the trial court at the ex porte proceedings of August 1, 1988, issued an order that police seize, ie. padlock, the third bookstore in advance of its opening, as authorized by IC 34-4-30.5-4.3

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4447 CORP. v. Goldsmith
504 N.E.2d 559 (Indiana Supreme Court, 1987)
4447 CORP. v. Goldsmith
479 N.E.2d 578 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1985)

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Bluebook (online)
479 N.E.2d 578, 1985 Ind. App. LEXIS 2501, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/4447-corp-v-goldsmith-indctapp-1985.