Simple Rhetoric and Complex Punitiveness: Federal Criminal Justice Responses to White-Collar Criminality

Abstract

Though criminological literature shows that the manifestation of punitiveness in the criminal justice system is complex, it rarely differentiates between responses to different kinds of crimes. This constitutes a significant gap in knowledge, as it is widely believed that white-collar crimes are treated leniently. In light of the “heating up” of political rhetoric, the expansion of federal criminal law, and the increased maximum punishments on conviction, the article aims to explore whether prosecutorial and judicial responses to white-collar crimes have become more punitive, employing rarely used datasets from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) between 1996 and 2014. It is demonstrated that these responses are more complex and less consistently punitive than the rhetoric and policies advanced by politicians. It endeavors to capture the complexity of punitiveness in practice by measuring numerous variables and multiple points in the criminal justice process, studying punitiveness from multiple angles, using prosecution and sentencing data.

Keywords:

• white-collar
• prosecutions
• sentencing
• punitive
• penal policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors

Notes

1 The statutory provisions cited in the subsequent footnotes reflect the most recently published data from the BJS. See further: Federal Judicial Center. (2005). Federal Court Cases: Integrated Data Base, 1970–2000. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research

2 15 USC § 77E, 77F, 77Q, 77X, 77YYY, 78E, 78F, 78G, 78H, 78I, 78J, 78K, 78L, 78M, 79N, 78O, 78P, 78Q, 78R, 78T, 78X-Z, 78DD, 78FF, 79D, 79E, 79F, 79I, 79J, 79K, 79L, 79M, 79N, 79O, 79R, 79R(D), 79V, 79Z-1, 79Z-3, 80A-7 TO 80A-34, 80A-36, 80A-41, 80A-47, 80A-48, 80B-3 TO 80B-11, 80B-17, 18 USC § 2, 3, 13, 371.

3 15 USC § 1-3, 8, 13(c-f), 13A, 20, 24, 70I, 72; 18 USC § 2, 3, 13, 371.

4 18 USC § 2, 3, 13, 201(a–i), 203-5, 207(b,c), 208, 209(a), 210, 211-215, 224, 371, 663, 666(c), 1962; 21 USC § 622; 22D USC § 103, 701–704; 26 USC § 7214(a); 42 USC § 1395NN (b1) (b2), 1396H(b);(b1)(b2); 46 USC 42 USC § 1395NN 239(i); 49:10(4), 917(b) 1472(d).

5 12 USC § 630; 18:2, 3, 13, 334, 371, 655,656.

6 7 USC § 13(b); 18 USC § 2, 3, 13, 371, 1341, 1342 1343, 1719, 1720, 1722, 1725, 1728, 1729, 1731, 1733, 1962; 42 USC § 1395SS(D4), 47 USC § 553(a)(1), (a)(2).

7 Income tax, evade or defeat: 18 USC § 2, 3, 13; 26:7201, 7202. Income tax, other felony: 18:2, 3, 13, 371; 26:7206(1), (2),(3),(4),(5a),(5b), 7208 (1),(2),(3),(4a),(4b),(4c),(5), 7209, 7214(b). Income tax, failure to file: 18 USC § 2, 3, 13; 26 USC § 7203. Income tax, other misdemeanor: 18 USC § 2, 3, 13, 371; 26:6047(a)(b)(c), 6051, 6674, 7001, 7205 7210, 7215(a), 7216. Tax, Excise: 18 USC § 2, 3, 13, 371; 26:5762(a1)-(a11), 5762(b) Fraud Wagering: 18 USC § 2, 3, 13, 371; 26 USC § 4411-12, 7262. Fraud, other tax: 18 USC § 2, 3, 13, 371; 26 U.S.C. § 5751(a1)(a2), 5752(a)-(d), 6056, 6420(e2), 6421(f2), 6424(d2), 6427(e2), 7121-22, 7204, 7207, 7213(a1)-(a3), 7213(b)(c)(d), 7231, 7232, 7261, 7272(a), 7512, 7513(b), 7602-3, 7604(b).

8 7 U.S.C. § 13(c), (1b); 18 U.S.C. § 2, 3, 13, 287, Statements 290-92, 333, 371, 1001, 1028(a), (b1),(b2),(b3), 1158-59, 1365 (c)(1); 19 U.S.C. § 2349; 20:1097(a),(b), (c); 21:458(c5), 611(b5); 22:618(a), 1980(g), 2778(c); 25 U.S.C. § 202; 26 U.S.C. § 5604(a14); 30 U.S.C. § 819(d), 820(f); 941, 1268(g); 42 U.S.C. § 1395NN(c), 1395SS(d1)(d2), 1396H (ai), 1857C-8(c), 3220(a), 3426, 3792, 4296H(Aii), 4910(a), 4912(c), 5420, 7413(c2); 9603(b), (c); 46:1276; 49:10(2), 10(3), 20(7b), 322(c), 522(a)(b), 917(c)(d), 1021(c)(d), 49A:1422(e), 1725.

9 12 U.S.C. § 161(a)(b)(c), 164, 334, 481, 582, 1457, 1709-2, 1713(b), 1715Z-4(a), 1730(d)(g4)(h)(p), 1738(a), 1782(d), 1786(k), 1818(j), 1829(b), 1841-1850, 1909, 1956, 1957; 15 U.S.C. § 645(a); 18:2, 3, 13, 216, 217, 219, 371, 658, 1004, 1005, 1006, 1007, 1008, 1009, 1010, 1011, 1012, 1013, 1014, 1904, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911; 20: 1087-4(a),(c), 1097(a), 22 U.S.C. § D3823.

10 18 U.S.C. § 2, 1030(a)(1),(a)(2),(a)(3), (b)(1), (b)(2).

11 15 U.S.C. § 1644(c); 18 U.S.C. § 2, 1029(a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4), (b)(1), (b)(2).

12 18 U.S.C. § 1347.

13 18 U.S.C. § 2, 371, 1344(A).

14 This figure excludes 734 defendants who were given sentences of less than one month but whose actual sentences were not recorded and 7 defendants whose sentences were sealed.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Deirdre Healy

Deirdre Healy, PhD is Associate Professor at the Sutherland School of Law. Her teaching and research interests include desistance from crime, community sanctions, white-collar crime, victimology and criminological theory. Recent publications include the Routledge Handbook of Irish Criminology (2015, with Claire Hamilton, Yvonne Daly and Michelle Butler).

Joe McGrath

Joe McGrath, PhD is a law lecturer at the Sutherland School of Law, University College Dublin, Ireland. His research focuses on corporate, white-collar and regulatory crime. He is the author of Corporate and White-Collar Crime in Ireland: A New Architecture of Regulatory Enforcement (2015), published by Manchester University Press.