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Article
Corporate Deferred Prosecution as Discretionary Injustice
Utah Law Review
  • Peter Reilly, Texas A&M University School of Law
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-2017
ISSN
0042-1448
Abstract

A recent federal appellate court ruling of first impression permits the resolution of allegations of serious corporate criminal wrongdoing by way of an Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism called Deferred Prosecution, without appropriate judicial review. This Article describes why this ruling is ill-advised, and suggests how other courts might address these same legal issues while arriving at different conclusions. This Article argues that if federal prosecutors are going to continue using Deferred Prosecution Agreements (“DPAs”) in addressing allegations of corporate criminal misconduct, then that discretionary power must be confined and checked through meaningful judicial review. The overriding concern with the appellate court ruling is that if the law surrounding corporate DPAs is permitted to develop on its current course, federal prosecutors will continue to use these agreements in a discretionary manner that both subordinates public interest and undermines separation of power principles.

Num Pages
45
Publisher
University of Utah College of Law
File Type
PDF
Citation Information
Peter Reilly. "Corporate Deferred Prosecution as Discretionary Injustice" Utah Law Review Vol. 2017 Iss. 5 (2017) p. 839 - 883
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/peter_reilly1/20/