Can a corporation be charged with and found guilty of a crime?
Examining the question on whether a corporation can be charged and found guilty of crime requires the clarification of what a corporation entails. According to Watch (2015), a corporation is a legal entity that only exists through its employees. However, this is not to indicate that a corporation cannot be charged and found guilty of crime. In the memorandum, the The Deputy Attorney General (1999) notes that a corporation can be vicariously liable for criminal activity although there are exceptions for certain kinds of corporations for example, corporations which have registered as limited liability corporations (LLC) are exempted. Corporations can be charged and found guilty in the case whereby the criminal act in question committed by an agent or an employee was conducted within the scope of employment (The Deputy Attorney General, 1999). Also, corporations can be charged and found guilty if they go against the statutes that have been set declaring the kinds of crimes which corporations are subjected (Watch, 2015). Moreover, corporations can be charged and found guilty when they fail to carry out certain responsibilities and duties that have been tasked with under the law. For instance, when corporations evade taxes, they can be charged and found guilty.
Do you think a corporation should be treated like a person under criminal law?
The contemporary society unlike in the past has seen corporations be charged and found guilty. However, it is not logic to treat a corporation like a person since it’s impossible punish or imprison corporations in the same manner as people (Mokhiber, 2015). Also, corporations do not act on their own but rather there is usually an agent or a person who acts on behalf. On the contrary, there are certain ways in which organizations are punished under criminal law. Some of these ways for punishing corporations are; imposing heavy fines once found guilty and retracting their licensure among other forms (Mokhiber, 2015). Therefore, I do not think that corporations should be treated as people under criminal law.
Reference
Mokhiber, R. (2015). 20 Things You Should Know About Corporate Crime. Retrieved 1 September 2020, from http://hlrecord.org/20-things-you-should-know-about-corporate-crime/
The Deputy Attorney General (1999). Bringing Criminal Charges Against Corporations. Retrieved 1 September 2020, from https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/criminal-fraud/legacy/2010/04/11/charging-corps.PDF
Watch, W. (2015). Treating Corporations as People. Retrieved 1 September 2020, from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/27/business/dealbook/treating-corporations-as-people.html
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