Monday
Oct272008
Let's not jump to conclusions about the CEOs
Monday, October 27, 2008 at 2:44PM
In a discussion concerning the over criminalization of corporate crimes at the Heritage Foundation, Former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh said the justice system should be "reserving criminal sanctions" for the worst violators of corporate crimes. He added that only prosecuting severe offenses is advantageous to an influx of "flimsy prosecutions" due to a "shortage of resources" to carry out an excess amount of criminal investigations.
Thornburgh stated that in the current economic climate, there is a "temptation to do something" among citizens, lawyers, and lawmakers alike. He advocated a "cooling off period" before action is taken.
William McLucas, Former Director of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission said it is difficult to be unbiased "against the backdrop" of "executive compensation." He thought the American
economy had suffered "systemic failure" and that the U.S. should "not get distracted" from the problems in our economy by assessing biased blame.
Director of the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation William Beach blamed our housing crisis on the desire to "increase home ownership" for people who were "not ready for those mortgages."
He said that until the risk of home sales is reduced "we are by no means out of the crisis."
Barry Pollack, Director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, felt the economic crisis created a "presumption of guilt" among corporate crimes. He added that criminal prosecutions are "viewed with 20/20 hindsight" which isn't fair to those charged since this corporate conduct has been allowed for years. He said a reduced amount of corporate prosecutions "does not mean you're giving up the notion of accountability."
Thornburgh stated that in the current economic climate, there is a "temptation to do something" among citizens, lawyers, and lawmakers alike. He advocated a "cooling off period" before action is taken.
William McLucas, Former Director of Enforcement at the Securities and Exchange Commission said it is difficult to be unbiased "against the backdrop" of "executive compensation." He thought the American
economy had suffered "systemic failure" and that the U.S. should "not get distracted" from the problems in our economy by assessing biased blame.
Director of the Center for Data Analysis at the Heritage Foundation William Beach blamed our housing crisis on the desire to "increase home ownership" for people who were "not ready for those mortgages."
He said that until the risk of home sales is reduced "we are by no means out of the crisis."
Barry Pollack, Director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, felt the economic crisis created a "presumption of guilt" among corporate crimes. He added that criminal prosecutions are "viewed with 20/20 hindsight" which isn't fair to those charged since this corporate conduct has been allowed for years. He said a reduced amount of corporate prosecutions "does not mean you're giving up the notion of accountability."
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