NCJ Number
113418
Journal
Trial Volume: 24 Issue: 9 Dated: (September 1988) Pages: 22-55
Editor(s)
G M Gold
Date Published
1988
Length
34 pages
Annotation
Articles on white-collar crime review serious problems for litigators who take on the defense of alleged white-collar criminals.
Abstract
Federal statutory weaknesses are exposed in articles dealing with prosecutions under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) which suggest that Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act has been misinterpreted by the courts and that Congress needs to enact legislation clearly defining insider trading. It is argued that Congress and the courts must devise ways to calibrate the scope of RICO criminal forfeiture provisions so that the most serious RICO sanctions are applied only to the most serious cases. Three articles examine procedural problems confronting counsel who represent white-collar criminals. Observing that white-collar crime cases are weighted in favor of the prosecution, one article outlines how an experienced and skillful defense attorney should undertake and carry out the defense of a client accused of white-collar crime. Another article explores the ethical and professional problems that a defense attorney must confront and solve if a client makes it clear that he intends to commit perjury. A third article outlines the proffer process, a procedure in which a potential criminal defendant discloses testimony to a Federal prosecutor in anticipation of leniency. The proffer process is criticized as unfair because it violates due process and is carried out in secret. In each of the five articles in the section the need for skill and knowledge by the defense attorney is stressed.