First Amendment Library

Scheidler v. NOW, Inc. (docket#: 01-1118) (2003)
Argument Date	12/04/2002
Decided	Feb. 26, 2003

Issue	(1) Did the 7th Circuit correctly hold, in acknowledged conflict with the 9th Circuit, that injunctive relief is available in a private civil action for treble damages brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)? (2) Does the Hobbs Act, which makes it crime to obstruct, delay, or affect interstate commerce "by robbery or extortion," and which defines "extortion" as "the obtaining of property from another, with [the owner's] consent," when such consent is "induced by the wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear," 18 U.S.C. §1951(b)(2), criminalize activities of political protesters who engage in sit-ins and demonstrations that obstruct public's access to a business's premises and interfere with the freedom of putative customers to obtain services offered there?

Majority Opinion

per Rehnquist

Concurring Opinion

Ginsburg

Dissenting Opinion

Stevens

Certiorari Granted

04/22/2002

Lower Court

7th Circuit

Lower Court Ruling

In NOW v. Scheidler (2001), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit , in an opinion by Judge Diane P. Wood , denied the free expression claim on statutory (RICO) grounds.

Oral Arguments

Transcript
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