Ethics Governance
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Introducing the Sentencing Guidelines in 1991 (Ethikos Archives) Introducing the Sentencing Guidelines in 1991 (Ethikos Archives) January/February 1991 - By Andrew W. Singer. Ethics Programs Could Save Companies Millions Under New Sentencing GuidelinesThe new U.S. corporate criminal sentencing guidelines provide a compelling reason why companies should invest in ethics/compliance programs.These guidelines, which are designed to eliminate sentencing disparities from one federal court to another, propose “drastic” new penalties for corporate crimes—as high as $495 million, according to Jeffrey M. Kaplan, a partner in the New York law firm of Chadbourne & Parke and a specialist in white collar crime. That’s the bad news.The good news is that companies that make credible efforts to deter crime, through the development and implementation of comprehensive compliance programs, can have those penalties significantly “mitigated”—down to zero in theory—according to Kaplan.This represents a dramatic turn in corporate criminal sentencing philosophy. For the first time, he says, the government is proposing “the carrot as well as the stick” to deter corporate malefactors.The message now is: “You have to do things before there is a problem. Given the magnitude of the fines it could be the difference between bankruptcy and salvation for a company that gets into trouble.”The guidelines, developed by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, are expected to become law this year.‘Heads they win, tails I lose’Until now, the system has been riven with anomaly regarding corporate compliance programs. A company can invest heavily in such programs, but that may account for little at sentencing time.In one case in the early 1980s, United States v. Full Article: http://www.singerpubs.com/ethikos/html/introducingguidelines.html |
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2006 Ethics-Governance.com |
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