1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910828374503321

Autore

Laufer William S

Titolo

Corporate bodies and guilty minds : the failure of corporate criminal liability / / William S. Laufer

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago, : University of Chicago Press, 2006

ISBN

1-282-53732-6

9786612537325

0-226-47042-3

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (306 p.)

Disciplina

345.73/0268

Soggetti

Criminal liability of juristic persons - United States

Corporation law - United States - Criminal provisions

Corporations - Corrupt practices - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Nota di contenuto

The evolution of corporate criminal law -- Recognizing personhood -- Constructing fault -- Playing games -- Shifting blame -- Crafting a soul -- Making and unmaking the pessimist's account.

Sommario/riassunto

We live in an era defined by corporate greed and malfeasance-one in which unprecedented accounting frauds and failures of compliance run rampant. In order to calm investor fears, revive perceptions of legitimacy in markets, and demonstrate the resolve of state and federal regulators, a host of reforms, high-profile investigations, and symbolic prosecutions have been conducted in response. But are they enough? In this timely work, William S. Laufer argues that even with recent legal reforms, corporate criminal law continues to be ineffective. As evidence, Laufer considers the failure of courts and legislatures to fashion liability rules that fairly attribute blame for organizations. He analyzes the games that corporations play to deflect criminal responsibility. And he also demonstrates how the exchange of cooperation for prosecutorial leniency and amnesty belies true law enforcement. But none of these factors, according to Laufer, trumps the fact that there is no single constituency or interest group that strongly and consistently advocates the importance and priority of corporate



criminal liability. In the absence of a new standard of corporate liability, the power of regulators to keep corporate abuses in check will remain insufficient. A necessary corrective to our current climate of graft and greed, Corporate Bodies and Guilty Minds will be essential to policymakers and legal minds alike. "[This] timely work offers a dispassionate analysis of problems relating to corporate crime."-Harvard Law Review