Deck 4: Assessing Blame

Question 1

In a way, the Ford Pinto trial was a matter of luck because Indiana:

A) just happened to be an "anti-corporation" state
B) had just passed a law specifically prohibiting homicide by corporations
C) had just passed a law specifically regulating auto manufacturers
D) had just changed the meaning of "person" in the homicide statutes

Answer 1

D

Question 2

According to the authors of Corporate Crime Under Attack, Ford's Pinto prosecution would not have taken place if the Ulrichs' accident had occurred a decade earlier.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In the Ford Pinto prosecution, the specific charges brought under Indiana law were for which, if any, of the following crimes?

A) murder
B) voluntary manslaughter
C) reckless homicide
D) product endangerment
E) none of the above

Answer 3

C

Question 4

On the excerpts from the "Watergate tapes," who visited President Nixon to ask him to help the Ford Motor Company obtain relief from the pressing problems created by the safety standard imposed by the Department of Transportation?

A) Ralph Nader
B) Jack Katz
C) Lee Iacocca
D) Hans Zeisel

Question 5

With respect to the planning and design of the Pinto automobile, the so-called limits of 2000 pertained to which, if any, of the following objectives?

A) keeping the price under $2,000 and the weight of the car under 2,000 lbs.
B) no more than 2,000 parts to construct the car
C) only 2,000 cars would be manufactured
D) none of the above

Question 6

In his magazine article, Dowie revealed:

A) an internal memo wherein Ford executives said that it was more profitable to settle accident claims than to repair the Pinto
B) an internal document that explained Ford's plan to mount a huge advertising campaign to offset negative publicity about the Pinto
C) a study that demonstrated the long-term belief held by many Americans that crime was a matter of race
D) a study that demonstrated racial bias in policing

Question 7

According to the authors of Corporate Crime Under Attack, Dowie's "Pinto Madness," the Grimshaw case, the "60 Minutes" segment on the Pinto, and Swigert and Farrell's study all helped to portray the Ford Motor Company as a:

A) corporation highly concerned about business ethics
B) social aggregate
C) victim of public greed
D) conventional sociopathic criminal

Question 8

In the article "Pinto Madness," Mark Dowie argued that:

A) Ford is the only irresponsible automobile manufacturer
B) even though the Pinto was dangerous, it would be wrong to use the criminal law against corporate executives like Lee Iacocca
C) the real "madness" is that left-wing consumer advocates like Ralph Nader exaggerate the dangers of products like the Pinto and needlessly scare off consumers
D) Ford was willing to sacrifice human lives because it was cost-effective and profitable

Question 9

Which of the following were important events in the "Pinto crusade" that helped set the stage for the Pinto prosecution?

A) "Pinto Madness" by Mark Dowie-a story published about Ford Motor Company (FMC) in Mother Jones magazine
B) the large jury verdict against FMC in a California civil case involving the Pinto
C) an investigation of the Pinto conducted by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration
D) a story critical of FMC and the Pinto that was broadcast nationally on CBS- TV's "60 Minutes"
E) all the above

Question 10

The California case in which a jury awarded $125 million in punitive damages against Ford for injuries that occurred in a Pinto was:

A) Kina
B) Grimshaw
C) Ulrich
D) Farrell

Question 11

Which of the following did Neil Graves not say regarding the Ulrich's accident?

A) the water that had accumulated on the floor of the Pinto was mixed with gasoline
B) the speed of the vehicles involved in the accident would not normally result in such a fiery crash
C) the Ford Pinto was crunched like an accordion whereas the van had very minor damage
D) the driver of the van had to be drunk or on other drugs for such a crash to have occurred

Question 12

Which of the following factors helped make Ford's prosecution for reckless homicide possible?

A) the failure of anyone to win a civil case against Ford
B) Ford's portrayal in the media as a concerned corporate citizen
C) the fact that the accident was not a "normal crime"
D) the lack of news coverage of the accident, which made Mike Cosentino think that he must bring attention to the girls' deaths
E) Cosentino's courage to prosecute Ford against the grand jury's wishes to let Ford off the hook

Question 13

Ford had the technology to reduce the likelihood that the Pinto's gas tank would puncture and cause the car to catch on fire.

Question 14

According to the authors of Corporate Crime Under Attack, in the Ford Pinto trial, the Ford Company officials were least afraid of:

A) a criminal conviction
B) prison sentences
C) how executive's reputations would be hurt
D) the fine that would be imposed

Question 15

If convicted under Indiana law, the defendant(s) in the Ford Pinto prosecution faced a maximum punishment of:

A) $30,000 or $10,000 per count, paid by the Ford Motor Company (FMC)
B) $3 million or $1 million per count, paid by FMC
C) prison terms for Henry Ford II, FMC Chairman of the Board, and Lee Iacocca, FMC President
D) none of the above

Question 16

One of the reasons why Ford was indicted in Elkhart, Indiana, was that the county prosecutor was a liberal who backed Ralph Nader's brand of consumer protection.

Question 17

What made the Ford Pinto trial such an unusual case?

A) corporate executives were put on criminal trial for a property crime
B) the corporation itself was put on criminal trial for a property crime
C) corporate executives were put on trial for a violent crime
D) the corporation itself was put on criminal trial for a violent crime

Question 18

Why did the three teenage girls die in their Pinto on Highway 33 in Indiana? Was a "crime" committed?

Question 19

Would Ford Motor Co. have been charged with "reckless homicide" a decade earlier? Why not? How was this effort to "criminalize" Ford a "sign of the times"?

Question 20

How was the decision to prosecute Ford influenced by an ongoing "crusade" against the Pinto? How was Ford portrayed that made it seems like a "criminal"? What role did Mark Dowie's "Pinto Madness" article play in this?

Question 21

What about the accident scene made the state trooper (Neil Graves) and the prosecutor (Michael Cosentino) think that the an unsafe car, and not poor driving, was responsible for the three girls' deaths?

Question 22

What was the Grimshaw case? Was it civil or criminal? Historically, how had product liability cases-that is, cases in which a person was harmed from a defective product-been handled? In what court? In this context, what made the decision to indict Ford on charges of reckless homicide so unusual and thus pathbreaking?

Question 23

Did Michael Cosentino prosecute Ford executives individually or the corporation as an entity? Why?