The Ionia Management Case: ON Its Way to the Supreme Court??

A federal appeals courts is hearing arguments in the prosecution of a Greek shipping company, Ionia Management SA, for dumping waste in the ocean.  The facts are not good but the case has, by luck, presented the federal courts with an issue that they desperately need to address -- when are companies criminally liable for the criminal acts of employees.  Currently we have only a 1909 ambiguous Supreme Court decision, NYC&H R.R. v US, on the issue.  The Court ruled that an old act, the Elkins Act, was constitutional -- the Act provided for criminal prosecutions of corporations.  Was the opinion limited to the Elkins Act or did it sanction any and all legislation on the criminal liability of corporations?  The demise of Arthur Anderson and the now repealed Thomson memo at the Department of Justice are all evidence of the substantial importance of the issue.  My view?  It is too easy to prosecute corporations for the illegal acts of employees.  Direct participation of senior corporate officials (with required criminal states of knowledge), whose actions can be imputed to the company, ought to be a requirement for company prosecutions.  Negligent supervision should not subject a company to criminal penalties unless a legislature expressly so defines the offense in a statute. [corrected]

In the end, I hope the Supreme Court will get and decide the case.