NCJ Number
94652
Editor(s)
E Hochstedler
Date Published
1984
Length
166 pages
Annotation
Seven essays explore the issue of criminal liability of the corporation. They deal with the subject as a developing theory and legal concept, address specific cases -- the Ford Pinto case, a nursing home homicide, and violations of Office of Surface Mining legislation by a group of corporations.
Abstract
The essays reflect the continuing effort by those in academia and government to grapple with the ideological and practical problems of corporate crimes. An introduction reviews the criminological literature and discusses the evolution of terms used to describe corporate criminality. A review of more than a century of case law identifies seven rationales (four of which are now in disuse) employed by courts in determining whether to impose criminal sanctions against corporate entities. A strong argument is presented in a third essay for the proposition that individual criminal liability cannot do the work of corporate criminal liability because of burden of proof requirements. An examination of the history of Federal criminal code revisions shows how changes alternately included and excluded criminal penalties for corporations found to violate health and safety laws. Several essays highlight practical difficulties in enforcing corporate compliance. The case of the Ford Motor Company shows how public perception of corporate responsibility has developed and the degree of its influence on prosecution. The nursing home case illustrates the difficulties of prosecuting corporate crimes because of investigators' unfamiliarity with their complexities, the skillfulness of the perpetrators, and the political environment in which these cases must be prosecuted. It offers suggestions for maximizing the probability of success. The final essay is a sociological study of enforcement of civil regulations against corporations. It suggests that many practical problems of criminal prosecution persist in the enforcement of civil regulations. For separate papers, see NCJ 94653-94659. References accompany individual selections.