Dear Reader,

In normal parlance, “imminent” means “very soon.” It means something else in lawyer-speak. But sometimes the investment of time is worth the cost.  

More than six months after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said her charging decision was “imminent,” we still await the conclusion of her criminal probe into Donald Trump’s “attempts to influence the administration of the 2020 Georgia election.” One reason for the delay may be that she is considering filing charges under Georgia’s RICO law, a sweeping statute that has some benefits and some drawbacks. 

RICO, short for the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, was first passed as a federal statute in 1970 to enable prosecutors to combat organized crime. Some states, including Georgia, followed suit and enacted their own RICO statutes. During her tenure, Willis has brought RICO charges even in cases outside the traditional mob context, using the statute to prosecute members of street gangs and school officials.