The changing role of criminal law in controlling corporate behavior / James M. Anderson, Ivan Waggoner.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anderson, James M., author.

Waggoner, Ivan, author.

Contributor:

Institute for Civil Justice (U.S.), sponsoring body.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Criminal liability of juristic persons--United States.

Criminal liability of juristic persons.

Corporate governance--Law and legislation.

United States.

Tort liability of corporations--United States.

Tort liability of corporations.

Corporate governance--Law and legislation--United States--Criminal provisions.

Corporate governance.

Corporation law--United States--Criminal provisions.

Corporation law.

Physical Description:

xix, 126 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Santa Monica, CA : RAND, [2014]

Summary:

What should be the role of the criminal law in controlling corporate behavior, and how can the execution of that role be improved? On the one hand, corporations have enormous power, and, when a corporation causes harm, there is a natural instinct to apply criminal sanctions, society's most serious expression of moral disapproval. In the wake of a harm in which a corporation had a prominent role, there are often calls for an increased use of the criminal law to tame corporate excesses. On the other hand, criminal liability has historically usually required criminal intent, a concept that applies oddly to a legal construction, such as a corporation. And more recently, critics have decried what they have termed the overcriminalization of corporate behavior, suggesting that there has been an overreliance on the use of criminal law in this context. To provide guidance to policymakers on the proper role of criminal sanctions in this context, RAND Corporation researchers (1) measure the current use of criminal sanctions in controlling corporate behavior, (2) describe how the current regime developed, and (3) offer suggestions about how the use of criminal sanctions to control corporate behavior might be improved. Book jacket.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

Overview of Corporate Criminal Liability 5

Research Questions 6

Research Approach and Sources of Data 7

Organization of This Report 13

Chapter 2 How Did Criminal Law Come to Be Applied to Corporate Behavior, and What Lessons Can We Draw from That History? 15

Emergence of Corporate Criminal Liability 16

The Development of Vicarious Criminal Liability 26

Diminishing Relevance of Criminal Intent 29

Conclusion 38

Chapter 3 Recent History: A Shift to Reforming Corporations from Within 41

The Traditional Approach: Prosecuting the Corporation, Not Individuals 42

Guidelines Era: The Start of Structural Reforms 45

The Rise of the Nonprosecution Agreement 50

Conclusion 67

Chapter 4 Trends in Prosecutions of Corporations and Individuals 69

Overall Trend: Declining Prosecutions 69

Convictions and Firm Size 71

Prosecution of Individuals Alongside Convicted Corporations 71

Differences in the Enforcement of Civil and Criminal Law 71

Deferred Prosecution Agreements and Nonprosecution Agreements 73

White-Collar Offenses 76

Important Exceptions: Sarbanes-Oxley and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act 86

Summary 94

Chapter 5 Conclusions and Policy Implications 97

What Lessons Can We Draw for Policymakers? 98.

Notes:

"RAND Institute for Civil Justice"--Page iii.

"RR-412-ICJ"--Page 4 of cover.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 107-126).

Other Format:

Online version: Anderson, James M., author. Changing role of criminal law in controlling corporate behavior.

ISBN:

9780833087867

083308786X

OCLC:

897946462