Ever wonder why all those bankers and jerks in The Big Short weren't prosecuted? Ever wanted to know how tax shelters work? Look no further than this book!
In Too Big to Jail, UVA Law professor Brandon Garrett explains the complicated nature and unintended consequences of corporate prosecutions.
"But c'mon!" you're saying. "It can't be THAT complicated to just slap some handcuffs on some fat cats in suits!"
"But c'mon!" you're saying. "It can't be THAT complicated to just slap some handcuffs on some fat cats in suits!"
Well....Consider this: Do you prosecute individuals, or the company?
How do you get reliable information when sifting through billions of pages of
corporate documents? Was it a few bad apples, or was it systematic? How can you
be sure? How much did leaders know? How much did they UNDERSTAND? Were leaders
deliberately keeping themselves from knowing bad things were happening on their
watch? (If so- they're guilty. Willful ignorance is grounds for conviction.
Neat, huh?)
Also-
prosecuting a company can put it out of business, threatening the jobs of tens
of thousands of people, almost all of whom would be innocent bystanders. The
government understands the power it possesses and the damage it can cause when
going after companies and it exercises caution accordingly. Is a badly-behaving
corporation doing enough good to justify its continued existence, or is it
irredeemable? Who's to say?
Which leads us to "deferred prosecution
agreements." This is where companies admit in court, "Yeah, mistakes
were made..." and pay a nominal penalty and allow the government to
oversee their business and confirm the company implements changes and doesn't
misbehave anymore. The company does all this in exchange for getting their
prosecution deferred (permanently, if the company behaves).
Too Big to Jail presents a nuanced portrait of these issues. And by the end, you would be well within your rights to question whether deferred prosecution agreements work. The author doesn't spell it out. He's a "just the facts" guy who only makes some thoughtful recommendations for reform near the end. This is a book that lets you make up your own mind.
I've met the author and can testify he's a cool dude. He likes old school thrash metal in addition to justice and legal scholarship. And I always thought he looked like Neil Gaiman, which is accentuated by his ever-present black clothing.
Too Big to Jail presents a nuanced portrait of these issues. And by the end, you would be well within your rights to question whether deferred prosecution agreements work. The author doesn't spell it out. He's a "just the facts" guy who only makes some thoughtful recommendations for reform near the end. This is a book that lets you make up your own mind.
I've met the author and can testify he's a cool dude. He likes old school thrash metal in addition to justice and legal scholarship. And I always thought he looked like Neil Gaiman, which is accentuated by his ever-present black clothing.
-Phony McFakename
The Gaiman likeness is UNCANNY
ReplyDeleteHe said he'd never even heard of Neil Gaiman when I informed of the similarity!
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