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Full-Text Articles in Law

Two Ways To Think About The Punishment Of Corporations, Albert Alschuler Jan 2009

Two Ways To Think About The Punishment Of Corporations, Albert Alschuler

Faculty Working Papers

This article compares the criminal punishment of corporations in the twenty-first century with two ancient legal practices—deodand (the punishment of animals and objects that have produced harm) and frankpledge (the punishment of all members of a group when one member of the group has avoided apprehension for a crime). It argues that corporate criminal punishment is a mistake but that viewing it as frankpledge is less ridiculous than viewing it as deodand. The article considers the implications of the choice between these concepts for standards of corporate guilt and for the sentencing of corporate offenders. After a brief historical description …


Attorney Liability Under The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Legal And Ethical Challenges And Solutions, William Alan Nelson Ii Jan 2009

Attorney Liability Under The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: Legal And Ethical Challenges And Solutions, William Alan Nelson Ii

William Alan Nelson II

This article examines the legal end ethical obstacles facing attorneys when counseling clients on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). It gives the background of the FCPA and the circumstances of its enactment, specifically looking at the legislative history of the Act. The article also provides the statutory language of the FCPA and cases illustrating how the FCPA has been applied. It examines the relationship of the FCPA and the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and state ethical rules on attorney conduct. The article provides multiple hypotheticals illustrating the ethical quagmires attorneys face when counseling clients on the FCPA. …


Prosecuting Worker Endangerment: The Need For Stronger Criminal Penalties For Violations Of The Occupational Safety And Health Act, David M. Uhlmann Jan 2009

Prosecuting Worker Endangerment: The Need For Stronger Criminal Penalties For Violations Of The Occupational Safety And Health Act, David M. Uhlmann

Articles

A recent spate of construction deaths in New York City, similar incidents in Las Vegas, and scores of fatalities in recent years at mines and industrial facilities across the country have highlighted the need for greater commitment to worker safety in the United States and stronger penalties for violators of the worker safety laws. Approximately 6,000 workers are killed on the job each year1—and thousands more suffer grievous injuries—yet penalties for worker safety violations remain appallingly small, and criminal prosecutions are almost non-existent. In recent years, most of the criminal prosecutions for worker safety violations have been brought by the …


Environmental Crime Comes Of Age: The Evolution Of Criminal Enforcement In The Environmental Regulatory Scheme, David M. Uhlmann Jan 2009

Environmental Crime Comes Of Age: The Evolution Of Criminal Enforcement In The Environmental Regulatory Scheme, David M. Uhlmann

Articles

The Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 often is considered the first environmental criminal statute because it contains strict liability provisions that make it a misdemeanor to discharge refuse into navigable waters of the United States without a permit. When Congress passed the Rivers and Harbors Act, however, it was far more concerned with preventing interference with interstate commerce than environmental protection. For practical purposes, the environmental crimes program in the United States dates to the development of the modem environmental regulatory system during the 1970s, and amendments to the environmental laws during the 1980s, which upgraded criminal violations of …