Friday, September 18, 2015

GM Deferred Prosecution Agreement and the "New" DOJ Corporate Prosecution Policy

Just days ago, DOJ came down with a new corporate directive (discussed here) describing a shift in investigation policy.  The new focus would be on the prosecution of individuals within the entity.  It states:

"2. Both criminal and civil corporate investigations should focus on individuals from the inception of the investigation.

Both criminal and civil attorneys should focus on individual wrongdoing from the very beginning of any investigation of corporate misconduct. By focusing on building cases against individual wrongdoers from the inception of an investigation, we accomplish multiple goals. . . . "

So much for this new policy, as the GM Deferred Prosecution Agreement comes before any individual prosecutions. (see Corporate Crime Reporter here).  It has the company paying $900 million, accepting responsibility, agreeing to cooperate, and providing information to the government.  

Both the old DOJ approach and this new one, that seems to exist only on paper and not in practice, have problems.  Both have the company serving as "agents" of the government.  Both have the company doing the investigative work for the DOJ.  Both have the company "throwing employees under the bus." And both show a disrespect for individual attorney-client relations.  

Corporate and individual criminal actions are a problem that needs to be corrected.  But as previously said, pitting the entity against its constituents will not correct misconduct.  And telling the public that you intend to take a different approach and just days after you do the opposite fosters a lack of trust. It also demonstrates the importance of Congressional action as opposed to reliance on DOJ internal guidelines.

(esp)

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/whitecollarcrime_blog/2015/09/gm-deferred-prosecution-agreement.html

Deferred Prosecution Agreements, Investigations, Prosecutions, Prosecutors | Permalink

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