Subjects:

Criminal Law

Contents:

Preface

Introduction

I Getting Started

The Meaning of 'White Collar Crime'

Some Generalizations About the Moral Content of White Collar Crime

A Three-Part Framework for Analysis

II Defining Moral Wrongfulness

Cheating

Deception

Stealing

Coercion and Expoitation

Disloyalty

Promise-Breaking

Disobediance

A Concluding Thought on Moral Wrongfulness

III Finding the Moral Content of White Collar Offenses

Perjury

Fraud

False Statements

Obstruction of Justice

Bribery

Extortion and Blackmail

Insider Trading

Tax Evasion

Regulatory Offenses

Conclusions

Where should the line between serious criminal fraud and lawful 'puffing' be drawn? What constitutes tax evasion beyond mere 'tax avoidance'? What separates obstruction of justice from 'zealous advocacy', or insider trading from 'savvy investing'? Can we meaningfully distinguish bribery from 'campaign contributions', or perjury from 'wiliness' on the witness stand? A look at some of the most high profile white collar crime cases in recent history will quickly reveal that there can sometimes be a fine line between serious fraudulent conduct and behaviour which, though it might be shrewd, crafty, or even devious, is not ultimately criminal.

According to the traditional conception of the criminal law, penal sanctions should be used as a 'last resort', applicable only to conduct that is truly and unambiguously blameworthy. White collar crime poses a serious challenge to this traditional view. This is the first book to use the tools of moral and legal theory as a means to examine a range of specific white collar offenses, aiming to develop and apply a methodology that will allow us to make meaningful distinctions between genuine white collar criminality and merely aggressive business behavior.

Particular attention is paid to the concept of moral wrongfulness, which is described in terms of violations of a range of familiar, but nevertheless powerful, moral norms that inform and shape the leading white collar criminal offenses - norms against not only lying, cheating, and stealing, but also coercion, exploitation, disloyalty, promise-breaking, and defiance of law. It is through such analysis that the whole moral fabric of white collar crime is brought into sharp relief.