Lying, Cheating, and Stealing: A Moral Theory of White-Collar Crime

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1 University Press Scholarship Online You are looking at 1-10 of 34 items for: keywords : white-collar crime The Meaning of White-Collar Crime acprof:oso/ This chapter begins with a discussion of the three critical issues in defining white-collar crime. It then considers the offenses that should be regarded as white-collar crimes, and salvaging white-collar crime as a concept of law and legal theory. Retributivism: An Inferior Practice John Braithwaite and Philip Pettit in Not Just Deserts: A Republican Theory of Criminal Justice Published in print: 1992 Published Online: October 2011 ISBN: eisbn: acprof:oso/ This chapter shows that retributivism is incapable of dealing with the complexities of modern society, in particular complexities associated with white-collar crime. It argues that the just deserts model is neither desirable nor feasible as a response to such crime, and that its implementation would have the practical effect of increasing rather than decreasing certain unjust inequalities. Lying, Cheating, and Stealing: A Moral Theory of White-Collar Crime Stuart P. Green Item type: book acprof:oso/ Page 1 of 5

2 The picture of crime that dominates the popular imagination is one of unambiguous wrong-doing manifestly harmful acts that are clearly worthy of condemnation. The accompanying picture of the criminal the thief, the murderer is a picture of society's failures, to be cast out and re-integrated through a process of punishment and penance. Our understanding of white-collar crime, by contrast, is pervaded by moral and imaginative ambiguity. Such crimes are committed by society's success stories, by the rich and the powerful, and frequently have no visible victim at their root. The problem of marrying these disparate pictures has led to a confusion of the boundaries of white-collar crime. How is it possible to distinguish criminal fraud from mere lawful puffing, tax evasion from tax avoidance, insider trading from savvy investing, obstruction of justice from zealous advocacy, bribery from log rolling, and extortion from hard bargaining? How should we, as scholars and students, lawyers and judges, law enforcement officials and the general public, distinguish the lawful from the unlawful, the civil from the criminal? This study exposes the ambiguities and uncertainties that pervade the white-collar crimes, and offers an approach to their solution. Drawing on recent cases involving such figures as Martha Stewart, Bill Clinton, Tom DeLay, Scooter Libby, Jeffrey Archer, Enron's Kenneth Lay and Andrew Fastow, and the Arthur Anderson accounting firm, this book weaves together disparate threads of the criminal code to reveal a complex web of moral insights about the nature of guilt and innocence and what, fundamentally, constitutes conduct worthy of punishment by criminal sanction. Trust and Betrayal Richard L. Abel in Lawyers in the Dock: Learning from Attorney Disciplinary Procedings Published in print: 2008 Published Online: January 2009 ISBN: eisbn: acprof:oso/ All of social life depends on trust, which often is best understood through its betrayal. The literature on white collar crime delineates its distinctive characteristics; case studies of embezzlement in the United States and fiddling in England illuminate the ways in which trusted employees and agents betray their principals. This offers a framework for the study of lawyer deviance. Disciplinary proceedings against New York lawyers eventuating in findings of guilt and suspension or disbarment are public records. Aside from misappropriation of client funds (which displays predictable behavior) and the miscellany of felonies, the most Page 2 of 5

3 common and important categories of lawyer deviance are client neglect, overcharging, and excessive zeal. Some Generalizations About the Moral Content of White-Collar Crime acprof:oso/ This chapter begins the task of looking at white-collar crime through the lens of criminal law theory. It discusses the place of retribution in criminal law theory and moral ambiguity in white-collar criminal law. A Three-Part Framework for Analysis acprof:oso/ This chapter focuses on three kinds of moral element found in any criminal offense: (1) mens rea (or omission of mens rea), (2) harmfulness, and (3) moral wrongfulness. This three-part framework is used as an analytical framework for describing white-collar crime's moral complexity. Conclusion acprof:oso/ This chapter presents some concluding thoughts from the author. It is because white-collar criminal law is informed by everyday moral concepts such as cheating, deceiving, coercing, and the like that its moral character can seem so ambiguous. But such ambiguity should Page 3 of 5

4 not dissuade us from its study. The white-collar offenses constitute an increasingly important part of our criminal law. If we are to really understand that law, we have no choice but to continue exploring the complex relationship between it and morality. Introduction Donald Palmer in Normal Organizational Wrongdoing: A Critical Analysis of Theories of Misconduct in and by Organizations Published in print: 2012 Published Online: May 2012 ISBN: eisbn: acprof:oso/ This chapter very briefly outlines the book's five contributions. First, the book identifies two broad perspectives on organizational wrongdoing and misconduct, conceived broadly as corporate crime, white-collar crime, unethical behavior, and socially irresponsible behavior. One perspective characterizes wrongdoing as an abnormal phenomenon, and the other characterizes it as a normal one. Second, it elaborates two general approaches to analyzing the causes of organizational wrongdoing. One is dominant in the field today, and the other represents an emerging alternative view. Third, it delineates eight specific explanations of organizational wrongdoing. Two explanations are associated with the abnormal perspective and dominant approach, five are associated with the normal perspective and alternative approach, and one occupies a bridging position. Fourth, the book illustrates these perspectives, approaches, and explanations with rich case material. Fifth, it explores the implications of the theoretical ideas presented for those interested in curbing wrongdoing in and of organizations. Introduction acprof:oso/ This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the moral complexity and uncertainty associated with white-collar crime. It presents two recent cases of alleged criminality to illustrate these issues: Page 4 of 5

5 the case of Tom DeLay and the case of Bill Clinton. An overview of the three parts of the book is presented. Disloyalty acprof:oso/ The significance of the norm against disloyalty (and the closely related concept of breach of trust) to our understanding of white-collar crime has been both over- and underestimated in the scholarly literature. On one hand, there are writers, such as Susan Shapiro, who have argued that violation of trust is the defining characteristic of white-collar crime. On the other hand, there are scholars such as John Coffee who have expressed considerable skepticism about the role that breach of trust should play in the criminal law. A more accurate assessment would arrive at a conclusion somewhere between these extremes. While the concept of disloyalty does play a significant role in defining certain key criminal offenses, such as bribery, treason, some acts of insider trading, and some frauds, it has little to do with many other core white collar offenses. This chapter explains the meaning of disloyalty, and foreshadows some of the ways that it plays a role in defining white-collar crime. Page 5 of 5