NCJ Number
129586
Date Published
1991
Length
17 pages
Annotation
Recent judicial decisions in Federal and State courts relevant to the prosecution of corporations and corporate officials for environmental offenses are reviewed.
Abstract
Violations of environmental laws and regulations, particularly on hazardous waste disposal, have routinely drawn monetary penalties in the past. Law enforcement officials at Federal and State levels are now bringing more criminal indictments against the responsible corporate officials and seeking larger penalties from the polluting corporate entities. Recent criminal prosecutions of environmental offenders have resulted in murder verdicts against corporate officials, rejections of constitutional objections regarding due process and equal protection, and an expansion of the trend toward strict liability. Although the range of penalties available for environmental offenses is usually fixed by statute, several courts have created innovative sentencing programs, such as running advertisements in newspapers and donating funds to public education on the subject of environmental crime. The deterrent effect of criminally prosecuting middle and upper level corporate management personnel may ultimately be greater than that generated by monetary fines, but there also exists a danger that such officials could irreparably damage their professional reputations and lose their jobs for simply following company policies. Nonetheless, the range of environmental statutes under which criminal indictments are sought continues to expand. Whether these statutes and prosecutions actually deter illegal activity remains to be seen, but corporate officials in the meantime are faced with the prospect of criminal liability for the actions of their subordinates and the policies of their corporations. 92 notes