{"ID":54168,"name":"Alexander v. United States","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/1992\/91-1526","view_count":0,"docket_number":"91-1526","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"Ferris Alexander","second_party":"United States","timeline":[{"event":"Argued","dates":[726818400],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/37182"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[741243600],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/37183"}],"lower_court":{"ID":13,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/13"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003EFerris Alexander was the owner of a chain of stores and theaters in Minnesota that distributed sexually explicit media. He was charged with violating federal obscenity laws and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The federal District Court in Minnesota found him guilty of both charges. The court ordered him to forfeit his businesses, sentenced him to a six-year prison term, and fined him $100,000.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlexander appealed, claiming that the confiscation of his stores for his dealings in obscene material amounted to \u0027prior restraint\u0027 on his subsequent distribution of adult materials, and therefore violated his First Amendment rights. He also claimed that the seizure of his business violated his Eighth Amendment protection against excessive fines. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed the District Court\u0027s judgment on the First Amendment claim, and declined to review the Eighth Amendment claim on the ground that no sentence less severe than life imprisonment without parole could justify an Eighth Amendment review.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Col\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDoes property forfeiture under RICO as punishment for the distribution of obscene materials constitute \u0027prior restraint\u0027 on speech in violation of the First Amendment?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003Cli\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDoes the forfeiture of a business as punishment for the sale of obscene media constitute an \u0027excessive fine\u0027?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/li\u003E\n\u003C\/ol\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003ENo and undecided. Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote for a 5-4 majority that the application of RICO in Alexander\u0027s case was neither a \u0027prior restraint\u0027 on speech, nor a criminalization of speech typically protected under the Constitution. His sentence established no conditions on his behavior after its completion; once he paid the fine, surrendered his business and went to prison, he could theoretically distribute adult media without prejudice from the government. \u0022To accept petitioner\u0027s argument,\u0022 Rehnquist wrote, \u0022would virtually obliterate the distinction [...] between prior restraints and subsequent punishments.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn a separate and unanimous vote, the Court ruled that the forfeiture did in fact merit Eighth Amendment review. The case was returned to the Eighth Circuit for an analysis under the Excessive Fines Clause.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":33983,"name":"Kenneth W. 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