“And the Winner is...”

On Friday, a $280 billion dollar claim made by the U.S. government was rejected by a federal appeals court. This case was against the tobacco industry and it involved obtaining money illegally. Recently, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit reversed a lower court ruling that past profits could be seized as “ill-gotten gains.” This victory for the industry was from a fifty year conspiracy to hold back information from the consumers about the dangers of smoking. It just so happened that this decision increased the shares of the top tobacco companies. This ruling also affected the U.S. government’s case. Right now, the best that the government can do if it wins the racketeering case is to further restrict the tobacco companies from marketing and advertising. According to Edward Sweda said that, “Far from winning the case at trial, the cigarette companies she be worried about remedies, which could change the way they do business.” The government might decide for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. After Friday’s ruling, the RICO Act sought by the government, which allows a court to impose remedies that “prevent and restrain” further violations was denied because it was decided that it doesn’t “prevent and restrain.” Senior Judge Stephen Williams’s opinion was, “Wealth deprivation is an extremely crude device for preventing criminal behavior. My question to you is, “If the tobacco companies, who seem to be in the lead now, win, how can the government stop these companies from continuing on with their deceptive practices?