Deck 7: Beyond the Ford Pinto Case: The Legacy of Criminalization

Question 1

Since the Pinto case, what has been the least common type of prosecution of corporations and their executives?

A) deaths or injuries of workers
B) the manufacture of unsafe products
C) violations of environmental laws
D) unsafe operation of a business

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Since the Pinto trial concluded more than 25 years ago, prosecutors have been more likely to prosecute nonviolent financially oriented corporate crimes as opposed to violent personal crimes.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

What was the Bridgestone/Firestone debacle?

A) tires were falling off cars in northern states that have really cold temperatures
B) tires were designed so poorly that they had to be replaced each year
C) the tread on the tires had a tendency to shred at high speeds and temperatures
D) tires did not have a thick enough tread

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What is not true regarding the Bridgestone/Firestone debacle?

A) the companies had no internal knowledge that the tires had serious problems
B) Ford replaced tires for free to customers
C) Bridgestone/Firestone paid for $240 million of Ford's legal fees
D) no formal criminal charges were ever brought against Bridgestone/Firestone or Ford

Question 5

What is the TREAD Act?

A) corporations must report whenever a product is found to be dangerously defective and has already been introduced into the market
B) corporations must not introduce or place defective products into the market
C) corporations must report the tread of each tire and its lifetime expectancy
D) corporations cannot design tires with less than one-half-inch tread

Question 6

The original TREAD bill, proposed by the Senate, called for penalties of up to $50,000 in fines and up to 15 years in prison.

Question 7

Which state prosecutes most often for crimes that involve deaths of workers due to intentional safety violations?

A) Texas
B) Maryland
C) Florida
D) California

Question 8

Which of the following was not discussed as a traditional factor to motivate companies to provide for the occupational safety and health of their workers?

A) workers' compensation
B) tort liability
C) tax incentives
D) criminal law

Question 9

Why are workplace safety cases rarely brought to court by federal prosecutors?

A) they take too much time
B) they are too expensive
C) the crime remains a misdemeanor, with a maximum sentence of six months
D) all the above

Question 10

Prosecutions for environmental violations have slowly decreased since the Pinto trial.

Question 11

Which of the following would not be an explanation as to why environmental crimes are more strictly enforced and prosecuted than workplace safety?

A) the public is more supportive of environmental concerns
B) Congress has been more willing to address environmental concerns
C) workers believed to be partially responsible for understanding the risks of their job
D) workplace safety has received continual coverage from the media

Question 12

What was the estimated overall financial cost to taxpayers due to the savings and loan scandals of the 1990s?

A) 500 million
B) 2 billion
C) 18 billion
D) 153 billion

Question 13

As of the writing of Corporate Crime Under Attack, which of the following companies has not been prosecuted for fraud?

A) Enron
B) Rite Aid
C) Health South
D) Wal-Mart

Question 14

Which of the following is a feature of a new criminal statute designed to prevent future criminal activity in the area of bank and thrift industries?

A) an increase in the fines and prison terms were implemented
B) civil and criminal forfeitures were sanctioned for certain crimes
C) criminal penalties were created for obstructing an official investigation
D) all of the above

Question 15

Which decade saw an increase in the number of insider trading scandals?

A) 1970s
B) 1980s
C) 1990s
D) 2000 and beyond

Question 16

What federal legislation established the SEC?

A) Safety Enforcement Act
B) Sentencing Enhancement Act
C) Scandalous Engagement Act
D) Securities Exchange Act

Question 17

Which of the following was not one of the Supreme Court's decisions regarding insider trading?

A) the Court approved new definitions of insider trading
B) the Court extended mail and wire fraud statutes
C) the Court restrained a few laws that were used too expansively by prosecutors
D) the Court limited the severity of the sanctions for companies

Question 18

Which of the following is not either a legislative or regulatory response to the financial and accounting frauds that occurred in the early twenty-first century?

A) an increase in SEC funding
B) the enactment of guidelines for federal prosecutors
C) amendments to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines that increase prison sentences
D) the Sarbanes-Oxley Act
E) the Milken-Boesky Sanctions Act

Question 19

Discuss the most recent developments in the criminalization of health and safety violations.

Question 20

Discuss the most recent developments in the criminalization of financial and accounting fraud.

Question 21

Discuss the insider trading scandals of the 1980s. Be sure to include how the Supreme Court and Congress responded to these scandals.

Question 22

Discuss the new criminal statues enacted by Congress in response to the savings and loan scandals of the 1990s.

Question 23

Discuss the various federal legislative and regulatory responses to the financial and accounting fraud scandals of the twenty-first century.