Just like people, corporations have the capability of committing criminal acts. The Enron scandal in 2001; the Bernard Madoff ponzi-scheme of 2008-2009; both of these examples show that despite internal and external controls, regulations, and oversight, corporations still are a multi-faceted entity that have the propensity to partake in crime. That being true, that criminal entity must be punished and held responsible for their actions. One tool in the prosecutorial tool belt is the use of deferred prosecution and non-prosecution agreements. According to Lanny Breuer, the United States Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, “over the last decade, deferred prosecution agreements have become a mainstay of white collar criminal law enforcement” (Warin, 2012).
A deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) and non-prosecution agreement (NPA) stops short of a full indictment and criminal trial as it creates a contract that the corporation must abide by for a length of time in order to avoid prosecution (Debold et al, 2012. In addition to the monetary penalties, it creates the steps for the corporation to begin following compliance measures (Debold et al, 2012). In this way, it is stopping the corporation from acting criminally and creates the path for it to begin acting a legitimate business. Under the scrutiny of the prosecutors, the company is forced to act within the confines of the law or face their accuser in a trial. NPAs and DPAs also help to collect illegitimate gains and force the corporation to pay a steep fine. Some states, such as Maine, offer a differed disposition in their criminal courts. This provides an offender the opportunity to stay out of trouble for a certain period of time in exchange for charges being dropped or...
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Uhlmann, D. M. (2013, December 13). Prosecution Deferred, Justice Denied. New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/14/opinion/prosecution-deferred-justice-denied.html?_r=1&
Uhlmann, D. M. (2013, October 1). Deferred Prosecution and Non-Prosecution Agreements and the Erosion of Corporate Criminal Liability. University of Michigan Law. Retrieved February 9, 2014, from http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2334230
Warin, J. (2012). 2012 Year-End Update on Corporate Deferred Prosecution and Non-Prosecution Agreements.Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation. Retrieved February 9, 2014, from https://blogs.law.harvard.edu/corpgov/2013/01/18/2012-year-end-update-on-corporate-deferred-prosecution-and-non-prosecution-agreements/
Indeed, plea bargaining is a “necessary evil” because it brings advantage to all sides, including the prosecutor, defendant and the court judges. Its necessity does not constitute its constitutionality, however, and plea bargaining should be limited in certain cases because it can be problematic in various aspects. In light of its inevitability, a categorization system can be employed to limit the use of plea bargaining and ensure its fair use, and that there should be specific guidelines for plea bargaining in each category of crime. In this paper, the definition and necessity of plea bargaining, as well as its potential problems, are discussed first. Then the paper would introduce the categorization system that originated from a comparative perspective.
In the Frontline documentary “The Madoff Affair”, it is revealed and painfully evident that the ability to predict, prevent, and prosecute white collar crime is flawed and highly complicated even for the government. Frontline takes a look at the first global Ponzi scheme in history and helps create a better understanding of the illegal conduct that led to the rise and fall of Bernie Madoff and those associated with his empire (Frontline, 2017). When the leadership at the top of any organization is founded on lies, secrecy, and empowered by the leaders within the industry, the corruption is deep and difficult to prosecute. The largest stock market fraud in history reinforces the need for better government regulations, enforcement of the regulations, and oversight, especially in it’s own backyard (Yang, 2014).
people in these 21st century society wonder, “When is Justice to be done?” For district attorneys,
Within the United State Supreme Court many tools are utilized to determine the final outcomes of cases. One of these tools is known as the “reasonable man/police officer” test. When it comes to keeping individuals out of the criminal justice system, the theory of deterrence is practiced. In this paper I will be discussing the importance of the “reasonable man/police officer” test and why it is used in the U.S. Supreme Court. I will also be discussing the importance of deterrence in our criminal justice system. Each of these two topics include different aspects that have to be recognized first in order to understand the overall concept. I will explain each topic, give an answer on why I agree and disagree and also provide supportive evidence for each of my points of view.
I would like to take this time to explain my position on Plea Bargains and Mandatory Sentencing. I will show both pros and cons for each topic, as well as give you my personal brief on which one I support.
Plea-bargaining constitutes one of the staples of the American Criminal Justice system. The practice entails an agreement between the prosecutor and the defendant in criminal cases where for the most part the defendant forgoes his trial by pleading guilty to his respective charges. By pleading guilty, the defendant receives a less severe charge compared to the original. The plea by the defendant saves an enormous amount of time for both parties since they do not allocate resources in order to prepare for trial. Similarly, the availability of money is also a factor of the plea-bargaining practice because instead the defendants can save a substantial amount of money the trial might cost.
Smith, C. E. (2004). Public defenders. In T. Hall, U.S. Legal System (pp. 567-572-). [Ebscohost]. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook
E.). There are various costs of white-collar crime, although an accurate measurement is not easy, they are hard to asses as well as very complex. There are enormous financial losses, sometimes physical damage as a result of negligence, as well as social costs: weakened trust in a free economy, confidence loss in political organizations, and destruction of public morality. “White collar crime could also set an example of disobedience for the general public, with citizens who rarely see white-collar offenders prosecuted and sent to prison becoming cynical about the criminal justice system” (Conklin, J. E.). White-collar crime is undeniably a crime and often encompasses elaborate
Today, worldwide, there are several thousands of crimes being committed. Some don’t necessarily require a lethal weapon but are associated with various types of sophisticated fraud, this also known as a white-collar crime. These crimes involve a few different methods that take place within a business setting. While ethical business practices add money to the bottom line, unethical practices are ultimately leading to business failure and impacting the U.S. financially.
“The case Against the Death Penalty.” aclu.org. American Civil Liberties Union, 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2013
Despite the longstanding acceptance and promotion for the crime-fraud exception, it appears that the use of the exception to report fraud has been relatively scant and use of ethical rules to sanction lawyers is similarly rare. For those that may favor private regulation or the ability of the market to dictate its own terms it seems that the equilibrium reached was one without lawyers disclosing of their own accord. This could be just viewed as an information failure problem—even if the ability to report fraud up the ladder was technically already available, lack of knowledge may have prevented lawyers from reporting fraud when they otherwise would have done so.
Crime comes in different ways, shapes, and forms. From corruption to murder, the seriousness and blameworthiness varies from crime to crime. The most common factor of all crime is that it is illegal. The problem with prosecution is that some crimes can find loopholes around the rigidity of the laws created. This is the hardest for white collar crimes. With so many types of white collar crimes, it is hard to understand where it belongs on the scale on seriousness and blameworthiness and how to prosecute. With white collar crimes, they are most commonly seen as “victimless” or “paper” crimes, since they do not involve physical harm to the people included. With so many types available to analyze, the purpose of this paper is to focus on bribery, perjury, and fraud. When it comes to white collar crimes, or any crime for that matter, we do not only need to focus on what causes it and society’s reaction to it. We need to look into prevention of it and being able to stop it before it even starts.
Therefore, under these ethical standards, prosecutors cannot file charges if there is not enough evidence to support a conviction, they also do not file if it is not in the public interest to do so. This is what makes the possibilities limitless; however, three key factors also play a part in determining which cases to prosecute. If prosecutors follow these three factors in determining cases then the contradiction of limitless discretion and high ethical standards should be remedied for others. These are factors that should be followed are as followed: the seriousness and nature of the offense, the offender’s culpability, and the likelihood of being able to obtain a conviction at a trial. “Ethical conduct, then, must be the core of the prosecutor’s role in the criminal justice system” (Hemmens, Brody, & Spohn, 2013). Therefore, even though prosecutors have almost limitless discretion in their decisions, they still must
White-collar crimes and organizational structure are related because white collar-crimes thrive in organizations that have weak structures. According to Price and Norris (2009), the elites who commit white collar-crimes usually exploit weaknesses in organizational structure and formulate rules and regulations that favor their crimes. Makansi (2010) examines case studies to prove that white-collar crime is dependent on organizational structure. For example, the financial crisis that Merchant Energy Business faced in 2001-2002 occurred due to the liberal Financial Accounting Board, which failed to provide a standard model of valuing natural gas and fuel. Moreover, a financial crisis that rocked the securitization market in 2008 was due to fraudulence in the pricing of securitization products. These examples ...