Deck 2: Corporate Criminal Liability: From Immunity to Culpability

Question 1

During which time period was the concept of "person" limited and individualistic, with few forms of collective ownership?

A) the feudal time period
B) during the later Middle Ages
C) during the nineteenth century

Answer 1

A

Question 2

According to the authors of Corporate Crime Under Attack, which of the following is false?

A) legalistic and individualist definitions of crime helped the injurious behavior of corporations to escape criminal sanctioning
B) throughout the 1800s, the U.S. Supreme Court fostered the growth of corporations
C) corporations have always been the dominant form of business in U.S. society
D) as corporations grew and workers were exposed to more accidents, several legal doctrines protected corporations from personal injury suits

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following statements about corporations is true?

A) since their early days in the United States, corporations have been held strictly liable for their actions in civil court
B) the growth in capitalism has hindered the growth of corporations
C) for much of its history, the corporation's status as a "person" limited its criminal liability

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following is not one of the factors that contributed heavily to the development of corporations?

A) centralization of political authority
B) the shift in the economic structure from feudalism to capitalism
C) the changing concept of "person"
D) changes in civil liability over the past century

Question 5

According to the authors of Corporate Crime Under Attack,

A) the law has edged toward criminal culpability in its control of U.S. corporations
B) in the late 1800s and early 1900s, growing concern did not exist about the power and negative consequences of U.S. corporations
C) the notion of mens rea has never helped U.S. corporations to stay immune from prosecution
D) the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Interstate Commerce Act have always been stringently enforced

Question 6

During the Middle Ages the meaning of person as a legal concept was expanded to include collective entities that were recognized as juristic persons.

Question 7

Which of the following is true regarding how the Supreme Court fostered the growth of the corporation?

A) In Marbury v. Madison the Supreme Court created the power of judicial review
B) Chief Justice John Marshall's interpretation of Marbury v. Madison enlarged the powers of the central government
C) In Fletcher v. Peck and Dartmouth College v. Woodward, the court preserved the sanctity of contracts
D) In Gibbons v. Ogden and Brown v. Maryland, the Court supported regulating interstate commerce

Question 8

Which of the following is false regarding how corporations evaded liability (through tort defenses) when workers were involved in accidents?

A) workers could not recover damages because they had "volunteered" to work knowing the potential risks
B) workers could not receive damages if they contributed to accidents through their own negligence
C) workers could not receive damages because they signed contracts upon employment that prohibited them from receiving any damages for any reason
D) workers could not receive damages if their co-workers were negligent

Question 9

Which of the following is true regarding the Sherman Antitrust Act?

A) the Act was successful in outlawing oil industry combinations that restrained trade
B) the oil companies grew more powerful and mergers flourished
C) many oil companies filed for bankruptcy
D) the Supreme Court was merciless in holding accountable oil companies that did not adhere to the Act

Question 10

Strict enforcement of the Sherman Antitrust legislation-which included sending a number of business executives to jail-stopped monopolistic practices of businesses early in the 1890s.

Question 11

Which of the following is not true regarding the National Civic Federation (NCF)?

A) employees could receive compensation for personal injuries from industrial accidents
B) the amount of damages an employee could receive was unlimited
C) corporations could project a more positive image that they were actually concerned about their employees
D) state legislatures appeared to be responsive to public interest

Question 12

Corporations were largely immune from the criminal law because of the notion of:

A) mens rea
B) actus reus
C) liability
D) concurrence

Question 13

Discuss the three main factors (the centralization of political authority in the state, the shift from feudalism to mercantilism to capitalism, and the changes in "person" as a legal concept) that have contributed heavily to the development of corporations.

Question 14

Give three examples of how a juristic was distinguished from a natural person.

Question 15

Discuss how through specific case rulings, the Supreme Court encouraged the growth of corporations.

Question 16

Discuss how the concept of mens rea provided corporations with immunity from prosecution. How did the corporation lose some of its immunity during the twentieth century?