U.S. reins in prosecutors on white-collar crime cases
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White-collar crime could become more difficult to prosecute under new guidelines the Justice Department issued today.
The department has been under pressure from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Congress to rein in some tactics that critics say gave the government an unfair advantage in pressing cases against companies.
Bloomberg News reports:
The changes bar the government from demanding that companies turn over confidential legal materials to win leniency in plea deals. The revisions also prevent prosecutors from penalizing companies that pay attorney fees for employees under investigation. The shift is a victory for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Bar Assn. and other groups that have spent more than three years arguing that the Justice Department tactics violated employees’ constitutional rights and gave prosecutors unfair leverage to force settlements with companies. The new rules are the latest departure for a department that once said tough tactics were vital to combat corporate fraud after the collapse of Enron Corp. and WorldCom Inc. The agency previously eased its business fraud guidelines in December 2006.
Read the full story here.
What would you bet that the next corporate-scandal wave will be followed by a new rush to give prosecutors more weapons to take on white-collar offenders?
The pendulum always swings too far, in both directions.