WHITE COLLAR CRIME 2
White color crime is financially motivated crimes in which the criminal involved are nonviolent. These crimes are committed by people with high social status in the course of their professional duties. These crimes are characterized by deceit, concealing of the truth and even violating of trust on the part of the offender. These crimes may include; copyright infringement, embezzlement of funds, fraud, cybercrimes, illegal money laundering or even stealing another person identity. Criminal fraud is a crime committed by an individual or an organization. Under this the perpetrator violates the trust from the other party and steals money from the party, this can be the employee within an organization. Instances, when the organization is the offender, arises when the organization fails to meet its obligatory duties towards another party causing the other party to undergo financial loss. Copyright infringement is illegal to use of the intellectual product of the other party for individual gains without the permission of the owner. Embezzlement is the violation of trust whereby the party entrusted to take care of the financial resource uses it for their gain. Cybercrime is a crime committed through the internet, this kind of crime has more implications depending on where it I directed and the intention of the criminal.
These crimes even though they are not violent their implications are severe and therefore ought to be handled with a lot of seriousness. Due to this, various laws have been enacted to curb these criminal acts and ensure that the culprits are brought to book. The laws enacted include; the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act- this act was passed to deals with extension of the penalties to not only include the offenders but also the accomplishes of the crime. The law has both the criminal aspect and the civil aspect which enhances its applicability in many scenarios. Before enactment of this law, only the actual offenders who are directly involved in the commission of the crime were liable for punishment. Through this, the person or party which facilitated the crime to be committed was not liable for punishment. For instance, one could order someone to commit a crime and then when it comes to being punished the person ordered is the only one liable for the punishment. Under RICO law, however, when the evidence shows the association between the offender and them accomplishes, they are both liable for punishment. Through this, all the parties responsible for a white-collar crime either through commission or omission are therefore liable for the crime. A RICO case is based on the behavior pattern of the affected parties, and therefore it becomes easy to prove in court. The plaintiffs, however, must prove beyond reasonable doubt that the defendant was involved in the crime for the lawsuit to be successful. An example of the case where RICO law may have applied is Boyle. vs. United States case of 2009, on this case, the Boyle was accused of conspiring to facilitate fraud in banks in several states of the United States. Boyle was found guilty of the charges.
Another law enacted to try to curb white collar crimes is the antitrust law. Under this, the US government seeks to protect local consumers from unscrupulous businessmen. The law seeks to ensure that consumers are protected from exploitation by business corporations as these organizations seek to maximize profits. A business enterprise is a different person from its owner, and therefore the owner is not liable for the commission or omission of the firm. These organizations, therefore, ought to be held liable for any crime committed through suffering the penalties imposed under this law. The law seeks to promote fair competition among different practitioners for the benefit of the consumer. The law discourages activities which would lead to unfair competition such as the formation of cartels or business mergers that can lead to a monopoly in the marketplace. For this law to be used for judgment in the court, the crime should fall under the category of illegal per se, under this some crimes are considered to be automatically unlawful. If the crime before the court doesn’t fall under this category, therefore the plaintiffs must demonstrate to the court how the crime committed caused harm to the consumer.
Corporate liability law, under this law the organization is held responsible for the law-breaking activities it engages in within the course of operations. The corporation is a different person under the eyes of the law and is distinct from its owners. The US government enacted laws on corporate criminal liability covers not only the local companies but also their international affiliates. Through this, a US based company can be prosecuted on a civil wrong committed by one of its affiliates outside the US soil.
The environment law as part of curbing the civil wrongs seeks to protect the environment from practices which are aimed at degrading and causing harm to the environment. The United State has enacted several laws which seek to ensure the environment is protected effectively. These laws include; the air pollution act- under this the government seeks to ensure that the rate of air pollution is controlled within the united states. An example is the Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, 549 U.S. 497 (2007) in the case mentioned 12 states had sued the Environment protection agency and sought the federal intervention in the regulation of the green house gases. The court held that the mentioned gasses were a pollutant and environmental protection agency had the right to sue any state that failed to regulate these gases.
Among the different laws discussed the above environmental protection laws could be considered the most important. These laws not only seek to protect the interest of the current generation but the laws also protect the interest of the future generation. Unlike in many laws suits the plaintiff who brings an environmental related case before the court has an easy time just proofing how the issue raised affects the environment. The law also protects the interest of not only the plaintiff but also the interest of the defendant in the said case.
Based on the discussed laws, the law which seems inferior and ineffective is the antitrust law; this is because the government has an obligation of protecting both the consumers as well as ensuring that the business entities have an enabling environment to undertake their business practices. Instances arise where there is only one buyer or seller in the market making it monopoly operated. Under this circumstance the government can’t deregister such an organization on the basis that there is no competition. Another factor making the law ineffective is the fact that many consumers don’t know their right and therefore cannot be in a place to ensure that this law is followed.
References
Smith, A. (2015). Heteropatriarchy and the three pillars of white supremacy: Rethinking women of color organizing. Transformations: Feminist Pathways to Global Change, 264.
Rakoff, J. S., & Goldstein, H. W. (2018). RICO: Civil and Criminal Law and Strategy. Law Journal Press.
Johnson, M. F. (2017). Institutional change in a conflict setting: Afghanistan’s Environment Law. European Journal of International Relations, 23(1), 168-191.
Kraakman, R., & Hansmann, H. (2017). The end of history for corporate law. In Corporate Governance (pp. 49-78). Gower.