by Christine Hall
October 17, 2005 @ 3:16 pm
Statement by Hans Bader, Special Projects Counsel
Washington, D.C., October 17, 2005— The Supreme Court today rightly rejected the Justice Department’s attempt to revive its demand that the tobacco industry pay the Government $280 billion under the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), denying the Justice Department’s petition for certiorari in United States v. Philip Morris.
The government argued that a statutory provision permitting the government “to prevent and restrain violations” of RICO allowed it to seek money for past violations, even…
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by Christine Hall
August 02, 2005 @ 3:05 pm
CEI Cites Constitutional Violation
Washington, D.C., August 2, 2005—The Competitive Enterprise Institute on Tuesday filed a constitutional challenge to the 1998 tobacco settlement. The suit alleges that the agreement between 46 states and major tobacco companies is unconstitutional because it violates the Compact Clause of the Constitution:
No State shall, without the Consent of Congress … enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State. (Article I, Section 10)
The Compact Clause was meant to prevent states from collectively encroaching on federal power…
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by Christine Hall
February 04, 2005 @ 3:13 pm
Smokers, Shareholders Escape Fed’s Try at Taxation-Through-Litigation
Washington, D.C., February 4, 2005—The Competitive Enterprise Institute applauds today’s court ruling against the federal government’s tobacco racketeering suit.
“The federal government’s lawsuit to squeeze $280 billion out of the tobacco industry was nothing more than an effort to milk a politically disfavored industry,” said Sam Kazman, general counsel for the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
“Tobacco may be addictive, but tobacco money is even more addictive,” Kazman observed. “First came the states with the attorney general…
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