Defense Attorney: RICO charges harder to defend against than murder charges

August 24th, 2023

Attorney and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani speaks to reporters outside of the Fulton County Jail shortly after being booked on charges relating to the 2020 presidential election in Georgia. Giuliani often used RICO in cases against the mafia during his time as a federal prosecutor in the 1980s. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Criminal Defense attorney David West has worked for nearly 30 years legal system and has defended clients in dozens of racketeering cases. But there’s one thing he believes wholeheartedly: RICO charges are much harder to defend against than murder charges.

“I think most defense lawyers probably, actually, charge more money to do [racketeering] cases than they would a murder case,” said West. “And there’s a good reason for that.”

West said it’s because all of these cases by definition will involve multiple defendants, which means more voices, more lawyers, more time and a lot more work for attorneys.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has charged all of the defendants involved in the 2020 election case with racketeer-influenced and corrupt organizations charges. West said Georgia’s RICO statute is much broader than the federal law.

“It allows for the prosecution of a wider swath of illegal activity and to go after more, different types of organizations, more broadly,” said West. “It also gives them the advantage of being able to go to different venues and prosecute people for crimes outside, not only Fulton County or the state of Georgia, but pretty much anywhere in the United States.”

West is not defending any of the defendants involved in the case, neither is anyone at his Marietta-based law firm. However, on today’s “Closer Look,” West told show host Rose Scott that he expects a “dream team” of local defense attorneys will be assembled to represent those who were indicted.