Hobbs Act
The Hobbs Act is a U.S. federal law aimed at combating organized crime, particularly focusing on offenses such as robbery, extortion, and labor racketeering that interfere with commerce. Enacted in the mid-20th century, the act defines robbery as the unlawful taking of property through force or threats, while extortion involves obtaining property through coercion. It allows for significant penalties, including fines up to $10,000 and imprisonment for up to twenty years. The law was introduced by Alabama Congressman Sam Hobbs in response to concerns about mob-related extortion, particularly affecting truckers.
One notable context for the Hobbs Act's creation was the Supreme Court’s ruling in *United States v. Local 807* (1942), which limited the prosecution of union activities perceived as racketeering. The act provides prosecutors with a robust mechanism to address any threats or violence affecting commerce without the need to pinpoint specific acts by involved parties. While the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) introduced in 1970 offers a more sophisticated tool for tackling organized crime, the Hobbs Act continues to be utilized in cases involving corruption and violence that affect commercial activities, even outside traditional crime syndicates.
Hobbs Act
The Law Federal legislation making it a federal crime to obstruct or delay commerce through robbery or extortion
Date Enacted July 3, 1946
Also Known As Anti-Racketeering Act
The Hobbs Act is an extension of the 1934 Anti-Racketeering Act, which prohibited specific acts of violence and threats of violence, specifically excluding lawful labor activities. The Hobbs Act was perceived by some as antilabor because it placed restraints on the 1934 law’s exemptions for some labor activities.
The Hobbs Act was an effort against organized crime, specifically robbery, extortion, labor racketeering, and the obstruction of commerce. The law’s sanctions include fines not more than $10,000 and up to twenty years of incarceration. The law defines robbery as unlawfully taking another’s property by force, violence, or threatened violence. Extortion is obtaining property with consent that is induced by violence or threats of violence. Commerce refers to activity within the United States, its territories, and other jurisdictions of control.
The act was sponsored by Alabama representative Sam Hobbs and was designed to address improper union activities such as work-related extortion and even minor interference with commerce. At the time the law was passed, prosecutors were concerned about mobsters extorting truckers. The law gave prosecutors a powerful tool, in that any violence or threat of violence that affects commerce could bring the Hobbs Act into relevance. As long as commerce is affected, the act does not require that prosecutors establish exactly which party involved in an offense committed specific acts of violence.
Reportedly, what fueled Hobbs’s ire in advocating for the law was the U.S. Supreme Court decision United States v. Local 807 (1942), which excluded racketeering-like behavior if undertaken by a union, as opposed to a crime syndicate. The Supreme Court had affirmed the idea that a New York City union could exact a fee from truckers to enter the city. The fee was not for any services by the union, and to many, including Hobbs, its collection appeared to be racketeering. For the Supreme Court, the circumstances constituted a real labor dispute where conspirators had attempted to negatively impact the employment of city workers. The union’s behavior was deemed in the interest of workers and not for the individual gain of union leaders, as prosecutors had argued.
Impact
The Hobbs Act has remained in effect into the twenty-first century, with most alleged violations investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Labor. The subsequent Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) of 1970 is a more advanced prosecutorial tool. The Hobbs Act is still used, however, to prosecute corruption and violence by individuals who are not members of crime syndicates or unions, but whose crimes have impacted commerce.
Bibliography
Lane, Charles. “An Unlikely Law Bolsters Sniper Case Prosecution.” The Washington Post, October 31, 2002, p. A13.
Lindgren, James. “The Elusive Distinction Between Bribery and Extortion: From the Common Law to the Hobbs Act.” UCLA Law Review 35 (1988): 815.