Digital Commons Network^™

Punishing On A Curve, Adi Leibovitch

Virginia Journal of Criminal Law

Does the punishment of one defendant change because of how she fares in comparison to the other defendants on the judge’s docket? This article demonstrates that the troubling answer is yes. Judges sentence the same case more harshly when their caseloads contain relatively milder offenses, and more leniently when their caseloads contain more serious crimes. I call this problem “punishing on a curve.”

Consequently, the article shows how such relative sentencing patterns put into question the prevailing practice of establishing specialized courts or courts of limited jurisdiction. Because judges are punishing on a curve, the court’s jurisdiction systematically shapes sentencing …

Regulating Culture: Improving Corporate Governance With Anti-Arbitration Provisions For Whistleblowers, Nizan Geslevich Packin, Ben Edwards

William & Mary Law Review Online

A focus on corporate culture, especially at financial institutions, has emerged as a regulatory, public, and media priority in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. With Dodd-Frank, Congress embraced whistleblower statutes as a key instrument to improve corporate culture and governance, and to extirpate undesired and unethical business practices. Despite the clear policy goals, Dodd- Frank’s unclear statutory text has created interpretative controversies. Although Dodd-Frank adds anti-arbitration provisions to preexisting whistleblower statutes, it does not include a dedicated, standalone anti-arbitration provision for Dodd-Frank’s new whistleblower cause of action. This Article argues that courts should not allow employers to use …

Lamar And Larene Drew, Plaintiffs/ Appellants V. Pacific Life Insurance.Company, Defendant/ Appellee : Brief Of Appellant, Utah Court Of Appeals

Utah Court of Appeals Briefs (2007– 2019)

Appeal from the Fourth District Court, Utah County Honorable Darold McDade

Usa V. Eliyahu Weinstein

2016 Decisions

USDC for the District of New Jersey

The Frontiers Of Peer-To-Peer Lending: Thinking About A New Regulatory Approach, William S. Warren

Duke Law & Technology Review

The growth of online alternative lending presents several advantages for both those seeking credit and those with excess capital to lend. Over the past decade, several different models of peer-to-peer lending have emerged in the US and U.K. Each of these models has developed in response to the different regulatory system it faces, which has led to the models’ different risk and reward profiles. However, the current regulatory framework for regulating peer-to-peer lending, especially in the U.S., leaves much to be desired. The inadequate regulatory regime not only hampers the potential for growth and further innovation in the industry, but …

A New Power?: Civil Offenses And Presidential Clemency, Noah A. Messing

Buffalo Law Review

No abstract provided.

Accounting Footnotes, Summer 2016, Department Of Accounting

Accounting Footnotes

Newsletter of the Illinois State University Department of Accounting

Audit Fees, Corporate Governance Mechanisms, And Financial Reporting Quality In Nigeria, Salau O. Abdulmalik, Ayoib Che Ahmad

DLSU Business & Economics Review

This study examines whether audit fees impair the independence of auditors in Nigeria and also examines the effects of independent non-executive foreign directors, foreign institutional ownership, and local institutional ownership on the quality of financial reporting. This study employs the Generalized Methods of Moment (GMM) estimation to control the presence of unobserved heterogeneity effects and endogeneity issues in our auditors’ independent model. The data was obtained from the annual reports of 89 listed companies in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for the years 2008 to 2013. Our findings revealed that abnormal audit fees charged by Nigerian auditors do not impair …

Data Mining Journal Entries For Fraud Detection: A Replication Of Debreceny And Gray's (2010) Techniques, Poh Sun Seow, Pan, Gary, Themin Suwardy

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

The alarming frequency of fraud occurrences suggests that corporations continue to face persistent threat of fraud (Cecchini et al., 2010a; Summers and Sweeney, 1998). According to Association of Certified Fraud Examiner (ACFE)’s 2014 Report, a typical organization may lose five percent of its revenue to fraud every year. As such, the consequences of fraud may impact the shareholders, creditors, auditors and the public’s confidence in the integrity of corporations’ financial systems (Rezaee, 2005).

The Effect Of Xbrl And Social Media On Information Asymmetry: Evidence From Bank Loan Contracts, Dazhi Chong

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Theses & Dissertations

This study analyzes how two information technology advancements, the adoption of XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language), and social media, affect bank loan contracting using a sample of 554 US bank loan contracts in 2011. I hypothesize that the adoption of XBRL and social media can enhance information dissemination and mitigate the information asymmetry problem between borrowers and lenders. Consistent with this hypothesize, I find that borrowers that adopt XBRL and/or receive positive social media user opinion in social media enjoy more favorable price and non-price terms of bank loan contracts. Additional analyses indicate that the relations among XBRL adoption, social …

Economic Ideology And The Rise Of The Firm As A Criminal Enterprise, William K. Black, June Carbone

Akron Law Review

Over the last 50 years, the institutions, ideology, nature, and power of firms in the United States have been radically transformed. Neoclassical economics has led that transformation, supplying an ideology that justified a dramatic increase in top executive compensation while dismantling the mechanisms that produced personal accountability tied to anything but relatively short term shifts in share prices. Yet, alongside the rise of the corporation, from the time of Adam Smith forward, has been concern that the separation of ownership and control creates opportunities to use the corporation as a “weapon” of fraud, and with the return of global financial …

Introduction To Socio-Economics: An Ethical Foundation For Law-Related Economic Analysis, Robert Ashford

Akron Law Review

This introductory Article to the Symposium Issue on Law and Socio-Economics (1) briefly explains the origin of the term “socio-economics,” (2) recounts the history of its formal introduction into legal education in 1997, (3) sets forth its underlying principles as a specific methodological approach to law-related economic analysis, (4) describes in greater detail some of its most important features, (5) compares the socio-economic approach to the narrower, neoclassical economic approach that dominates scholarship in “law and economics,” (6) explains the special connection between socio-economic principles and the ethical responsibilities of lawyers related to competence, candor, and the lawyer’s role as …

Corporate Governance In An Era Of Compliance, Sean J. Griffith

William & Mary Law Review

Compliance is the new corporate governance. The compliance function is the means by which firms adapt behavior to legal, regulatory, and social norms. Formerly, this might have been conceived as a typical governance matter to be handled at the discretion of the board of directors. Compliance, however, does not fit traditional models of corporate governance. It does not come from the board of directors, state corporate law, or federal securities law. Compliance amounts instead to an internal governance structure imposed upon the firm from the outside by enforcement agents. This insight has important implications, both practical and theoretical, for corporate …

A Comparison Of Accounting Fraud Before And After Sarbanes-Oxley, Kayla Dowd

Honors Program Theses and Projects

(Introduction): Within all trades of business, the potential for the perpetration of accounting fraud within companies is unfortunately not an infrequent occurrence. Accounting fraud is the “intentional misrepresentation or alteration of accounting records regarding sales, revenues, expenses, and other factors for a profit motive such as inflating company stock values, obtaining more favorable financing, or avoiding debt obligations” (Business Dictionary). The reasons for the frequent phenomenon of accounting fraud are countless. To name a few: greed, lack of transparency, poor management information, and poor accounting internal controls signify some of the various explanations for accounting fraud (Frost 1). Whether or …

Panama Papers Expose Latin America’S Networks Of Financial Secrecy, Johanna Marris

NotiSur

No abstract provided.

Behind The Stakes, Between The Lines, Beyond The Pun: A Critical Deconstruction Of Humor In William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, And Other Popular Comedies, Jaime Libby

Dissertations, Masters Theses, Capstones, and Culminating Projects

Humor is a powerful rhetorical device employed at all levels of human discourse—from casual banter to political debate. Still, despite humor’s global prevalence, its historical transgressiveness, and its distinct potential both to neutralize and critically engage highly fraught issues, humans do not often pause to ask how humor works. And what does its working tell us about our humanness? This thesis explores the operation of humor in literature and performance, using tools provided by structuralist, deconstructive, and postmodern critical arenas, to reveal how humor’s fundamental structures invite humans to entertain new perspectives and practice empathy. The study considers irony, the …

"Ev'ry American Experiment Sets A Precedent": Why One Florida State Court's Bitcoin Opinion Is Everyone's Business, Allison Caffarone, Meg Holzer

Journal of International Business and Law

July 22, 2016. A Florida state court dismisses a three-count information against a sole defendant in "a Miami money-laundering case that is being closely watched around the world." The defendant, a dealer of the virtual currency bitcoin, is free to go. He is also free to continue engaging in the sale of bitcoin. This "victory for bitcoin users" was the first state court case to address Bitcoin in the context of the money services business and anti-money laundering statutes. And on every front, the court got it wrong — while the world was watching. Federal and state prosecutors, defense attorneys, …

Monitor's Final Consumer Relief Report Regarding Defendants Ocwen Financial Corporation And Ocwen Loan Servicing, Llc, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Et Al. V. Ocwen Financial Corporation And Ocwen Loan Servicing, Llc

National Mortgage Settlements Digital Archive

No abstract provided.

Monitor's Report Updating The Status Of The Potential Violation Of Metric 19 By Ocwen Loan Servicing, Llc As Successor By Assignment From Defendants Residential Capital Llc, Gmac Mortgage Llc, And Ally Financial Inc., United States Of America, Et Al. V. Bank Of America Corp., Et Al.

National Mortgage Settlements Digital Archive

No abstract provided.

Cdic: Funding, Taiwan: Central Deposit Insurance Corporation

Documents

No abstract provided.

April 21, 2016, James Madison University

The Breeze, 2010-2019

The Breeze is the student newspaper of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Accounting Information Systems: Ethics, Fraudulent Behavior, And Preventative Measures, Jasmine S. Smith

Honors College Theses

Most business organizations have implemented Accounting Information Systems to improve efficiency and to help optimize use of company resources. The evolution of Information Technology within financial and accounting processes has brought new ethical issues, forms of fraudulent behavior, and mechanisms to prevent compromising confidential, sensitive, and personal information. This investigation focuses on the evolution of Accounting Information Systems and their controls for limiting fraud and misconduct in financial and accounting processes.

Panama Papers Documents Implicate At Least 33 Mexican Citizens In Global Tax Scandal, Carlos Navarro

SourceMex

No abstract provided.

A Snapshot Of The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Mike Koehler

Santa Clara Journal of International Law

No abstract provided.

Cryptography: "Key Recovery" Shaping Cyberspace (Pragmatism And Theory), Kenneth P. Weinberg

Journal of Intellectual Property Law

No abstract provided.

You Were Told To Love The Immigrant, But What If The Story Never Happened? Hospitality And United States Immigration Law, Craig B. Mousin

Vincentian Studies

The biblical narrative served as an inspiration in creating the government of the United States and grounds Christian ethics. People of faith must decide how to interpret and live out the narrative in the present day. The Bible, which is full of stories about exile, should therefore shape our response to immigration. Craig Mousin examines what the Bible says about the treatment of immigrants and applies current immigration law to imagined cases of biblical figures. All of them, including Jesus, would have been denied entry, deported, or forced to live as undocumented immigrants. Mousin then situates immigration within the context …

Writing The Rules Of Attorney-Whistleblowing: Who Gets To Decide, And How Do We Make The Decision?, Alex Bein

Fordham Urban Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Stressed Assets And Banking In India, Charan Singh, Jagvinder Singh Brar

Working Papers

Stressed assets have been rising rapidly in India, mainly in public sector banks. A number of factors can be identified that have led to this situation. These include global slow down, governance related issues, political factors as well as mal-intentions and misconduct. Consequently, significant losses are incurred by the public as well as the Union Government which basically owns public sector banks. The chances of misconduct are substantially large in case of infrastructure project especially under public private partnership. There is need to take this opportunity to undertake extensive research into the factors which have led to deteriorating asset quality …

Frauds In The Indian Banking Industry, Charan Singh, Deepanshu Pattanayak, Divyesh Satishkumar Dixit, Kiran Antony, Mohit Agarwala, Ravi Kant, S Mukunda, Siddharth Nayak, Suryaansh Makked, Tamanna Singh, Vipul Mathur

Working Papers

The Indian banking sector has experienced considerable growth and changes since liberalisation of economy in 1991. Though the banking industry is generally well regulated and supervised, the sector suffers from its own set of challenges when it comes to ethical practices, financial distress and corporate governance. This study endeavours to cover issues such as banking frauds and mounting credit card debt, with a detailed analysis using secondary data (literature review and case approach) as well as an interview-based approach, spanning across all players involved in reporting financial misconduct. The report touches upon the case of rising NPAs in the past …

Inside Lawyers: Friends Or Gatekeepers?, Sung Hui Kim

Fordham Law Review

Part I of this Article sets the stage by contrasting two alternative proposals to reform the inside lawyer's role—my reform and Hamermesh's counterreform. Part II discusses the primary empirical disagreements between the two approaches. Part III interrogates the propriety and the utility of invoking the “lawyer as friend” analogy as a model to guide inside counsel's relationships with managers.