White Collar/Corporate Crime – 6818

Spring 2015
This class will take students through an overview of the theory and practice of white collar litigation in the criminal arena. We will begin with a survey of the basic principles and theories that give birth to this area of law, and then turn to the main substantive areas of white collar criminal liability, examining the elements and issues of the most common regulatory schemes encountered in the interface between corporations and criminal law: Mail and Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, RICO, and obstruction of justice. Next, we will discuss practice in white collar defense and prosecution, looking at discovery, plea negotiation and trial challenges unique to allegations of criminal malfeasance in corporate settings. We will examine federal laws, sentencing regulations, and Supreme Court pronouncements that control punishment for common white collar offenses. Finally, we will return to overarching policy questions, considering the role of federal courts in the imposition of criminal liability, and the consequences of overlapping state and federal jurisdiction over white collar offenses, particularly as revealed in the investigation and prosecution of public corruption cases.