A Brief Legal History of RICO Charges and Artistic Freedom & Their Unconstitutional Applications in State of Georgia v. Kahlieff Adams, et al.

Abstract

This paper seeks to analyze how the history and precedent of racketeer-influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) charges and the admission of rap lyrics into a courtroom both play into the case of State of Georgia v. Kahlieff Adams et al. This case, better known as the Young Slime Life (YSL) Case, features the likes of famous rappers Young Thug and Gunna and initially charged twenty- eight individuals. This case garnered national attention and has since made both legal and lay observers question the ways in which the strategies employed by the State of Georgia have followed the precedent of other RICO cases in the subversion of the constitutional rights of all defendants as citizens of the United States. Beyond analysis, this paper will also argue that the melding of the unjust concepts of RICO charges and restrictions on artistic freedom combine forces in the YSL case to restrict the civil liberties of all the defendants involved.