2083
RICO Prosecution MemorandumProposed Indictment
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Final Draft
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A prosecution memo will not receive final action unless the final
draft
of the proposed indictment is simultaneously submitted for review. It goes
without saying that indictments must be proofread carefully. While the
Section's
review will pick up the more obvious errors in pleading, other errors
involving
allegations of fact, time, or place will only be caught by the trial
attorney's
personal familiarity with the evidence. All statutory citations,
particularly
of State statutes, should be double-checked for typographical errors.
Review by
the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of all proposed RICO cases is
not
a substitute for the necessary first line review at the field level before
the
case is submitted to the Criminal Division.
One of the principal reasons RICO reviews may take longer than
anticipated is that the case either has not been reviewed at the originating
office by a supervisor, or the draft indictment is incomplete and/or
unaccompanied by a prosecution memo. Another recurring problem is the
submission
by the submitting attorney of a "final" draft indictment which the author
continues to modify without informing the reviewer, or simultaneously
submits for
review within the originating office. In any event, the indictment being
reviewed
turns out not to be the same indictment ultimately submitted for approval.
Therefore in order to avoid wasted effort, the submitting attorney must not
forward as a final draft indictment one which he/she has not in fact
finalized
or which has not been approved by the originating office.
It is the responsibility of the submitting attorney after the
indictment has been returned to forward a copy bearing the seal of the clerk
of
court, to the Organized Crime and Racketeering Section.
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