Exam 11: Prosecuting, Defending, and Adjudicating White Collar Crime

How does the adjudication process differ, if at all, in white collar crime cases, relative to conventional crime cases? What are some of the principal factors governing the sentencing of white collar crime offenders? What arguments can be advanced for and against the introduction of sentencing guidelines into the sentencing process for white collar offenders? What seems to be the fate of white collar offenders who are sent to prison?

Which of the following statements about federal agencies is true?

The problem of jury competence appears to be:

White collar crime defendants are far more likely than conventional crime defendants to retain private counsel.

According to the text, given the nature of white collar crime cases, judges are somewhat less vulnerable to error than juries.

Which of the following is true of product liability and medical malpractice cases?

The limited number of studies of imprisoned white collar crime offenders point to which of the following conclusions?

Unlike conventional offenders, high-status white collar crime offenders tend to face juries that consist of people very much like themselves.

The formal secrecy of grand jury proceedings can help protect the reputation of businesses being investigated for alleged white collar crime offenses.

White collar offenders are most often incarcerated in what type of prison?

Federal prosecutors may opt for civil proceedings as opposed to criminal proceedings when pursuing white collar offenders.

Deferred prosecution agreements allow corporations to accept certain conditions in return for the prosecutor not pursuing criminal indictments against them.

Once a client is charged, according to the text, a strong incentive exists to plead guilty because of the low likelihood of winning cases for which arguments preventing a charge have failed.

When corporations are fined, the fine is typically several times the cost of the economic harm caused.

Which of the following is true of jurors in white collar crime cases?

Defendants in white collar crime cases who plead guilty typically do not become cooperating witnesses since there is often only one defendant.

The Clinton presidential administration of the 1990s was somewhat more ideologically attuned to pursuing white collar crime cases, and a dramatic increase in the pursuit of ____ cases, in particular, occurred during the early years of this administration.

What principal factors have prevented local prosecutors from pursuing white collar crime cases? When they do pursue such cases, which factors seem to persuade them to do so? What is the role of state attorney generals in the pursuit of white collar crime cases?

There is evidence that in criminal cases, jurors are more likely to hold corporations more blameworthy than individual executives for wrongdoing.

Overall, evidence does not suggest that juries are either significantly more or significantly less likely than judges to acquit white collar crime defendants.