CLBR #177: Should Corp Offenders Go to Jail, ADA and Pao

Featured Segment
Listen Live Wed at 10AM PT/ 1PM ET on WebmasterRadio.fm

Podcast: Podcast: Play in new window | Download (48.9MB)

Why Not Jail?: Industrial Catastrophes, Corporate Malfeasance and Government Inaction

The U.S. Department of Justice is under fire for failing to prosecute banks that caused the 2008 economic meltdown because they are too big to jail. Prosecutors have long neglected to hold corporate executives accountable for chronic mistakes that kill and injure workers and customers. This book, the first of its kind, analyzes five industrial catastrophes that have killed or sickened consumers and workers or caused irrevocable harm to the environment. From the Texas City refinery explosion to the Upper Big Branch mine collapse to the destruction of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and extending to incidents of food and drug contamination that have killed or injured hundreds, the root causes of these preventable disasters include crimes of commission and omission. Although federal prosecutors have made a start on holding low-level managers liable, far more aggressive prosecution is appropriate as a matter of law, policy, and justice. Written in accessible and jargon-free language, this book recommends innovative interpretations of existing laws to elevate the prosecution of white-collar crime at the federal and state levels.

Rena Steinzor is a Professor at the University of Maryland School of Law and teaches an environmental survey course, as well as offerings in risk assessment, critical issues in law and science, legal methods, contracts, and an introduction to the administrative system. During the course of her academic career, Professor Steinzor has written extensively on efforts to reinvent environmental regulation in the United States, the use and misuse of science in environmental policy making, and the devolution of legal and administrative authority to the states.

See More Detailed Post

News

Obama Declares Cyber Attacks Emergency

In a new executive order, president Barack Obama empowered the US Treasury secretary to use financial sanctions against foreign actors who threaten critical infrastructure, launch denial-of-service attacks, or seek to steal trade secrets or financial data.  (Link)

Another Court Finds ADA Applies to Websites

the Internet is central to every aspect of the “economic and social mainstream of American life.” PGA Tour, 532 U.S. at 675. In such a society, “excluding businesses that sell services through the Internet from the ADA would ‘run afoul of the purposes of the ADA and would severely frustrate Congress’s intent that individuals with disabilities fully enjoy the goods, services, privileges, and advantages available indiscriminately to other members of the general public.” Netflix, 869 F. Supp. 2d at 200 (quoting Carparts, 37 F.3d at 20). (Link)

Kleiner Perkins Wins Discrimination Trial

GoDaddy IPO

April Fools’ Day