The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Did the "rushed debate" really spell the end of securities claims and RICO?

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 amended the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in hopes of decreasing the number of class action lawsuits by enhancing procedural requirements t o be met by private plaintiffs. The "RICO Amendment" removed securities fra ud as a predicate act for civil RICO liability. In this article, the author argues that the Congress' poor drafting and "rushed debate" of the Amendme nt essentially enabled the courts to circumvent Congress' clear attempt to reform RICO.