Re: Anti-Electronic Racketeering Act of 1995

[Greg Broiles <greg@ideath.goldenbear.com>]

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To: danisch@ida.uka.de
Hadmut Danisch writes:

>I am not familiar with american laws and have two questions:

>1. If the bill becomes law, how can someone who violates it be
>punished? 

A criminal RICO violation can be punished by up to 20 years' imprisonment,
as well as forfeiture of any personal or real property constituting
or derived from proceeds of racketeering activity. A convicted RICO
defendant can be fined up to twice the gross profits of the 
racketeering activity. If the defendant disposes of property otherwise
subject to forfeiture, other property owned by the defendant (of equivalent
value) may be seized and forfeited. 18 USC 1963.

RICO also allows private parties injured by a RICO violation to bring a
civil suit and recover three times their actual damages, plus attorneys'
fees and costs. A criminal conviction will operate to estop a RICO 
defendant from denying the facts underlying the criminal conviction in a
subsequent civil suit. 18 USC 1964.

>2. Does someone who publishes software which encodes or encrypts 
>(ASCII is a code, isn't it?) have to prove that he has provided the
>universal decoder to the state or does the state have to prove that he
>didn't do? 

The defendant has to prove that s/he provided the decoder, because 
providing the decoder is an affirmative defense. That puts the burden
of proof on the defendant on that issue. Were the statute worded that
not providing the decoder were an element of the crime, then the
government would need to prove that the defendant hadn't provided it. 


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