NCJ Number
112105
Journal
American Business Law Journal Volume: 25 Dated: (Summer 1987) Pages: 323-343
Date Published
1987
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article explores recent trends in criminal liability of managers and other corporate officials for legal wrongs in the areas of health, safety, and environmental law.
Abstract
In the area of food, drugs, and cosmetics, a strict liability standard has been established and confirmed for criminal violations involving adulterated or misbranded products in interstate commerce. Convictions have not been based on vicarious liability of the official but rather on the official's responsible relation to the conduct. Since the late 1960's, Congress has continued to expand criminal liabilities of individuals under health, safety, and environmental law by expressly covering more classes of individuals, including corporate officers, and by increasing penalties. At the same time, Congress has consciously chosen not to expand the use of strict or vicarious liability principles to enforce criminal sanctions against officials. While maximum penalties have increased significantly, more vigorous Federal enforcement has not always followed, and incarceration has rarely been used. At the same time, States have begun to use traditional State statutes to prosecute corporate officials and to impose more onerous penalties, including prison sentences, as illustrated in a Los Angeles hazardous waste case. It is suggested that since the primary goal of criminal prosecution and sanctioning in such cases is deterrence, this end could be accomplished by appropriate diversion programs that minimize overdeterrence, while incorporating provisions for rehabilitation, incapacitation, and even retribution. 131 footnotes.