Moving Forward by Looking Back: Prosecutorial Decision-Making and White Collar Crime

• In Event: Examining Prosecutorial Practices Nationally and Abroad

Abstract

Sentencing studies in white collar crime have a long history in criminology. However, much of the research is dated. The dearth of recent attention is particularly surprising given the salience of white-collar and corporate crime post-ENRON and the financial crisis. In addition to contemporary relevance, this recent inattention also means that white collar sentencing studies have yet to incorporate the latest data and methods in sentencing research. Drawing from recent developments in this broader literature, this research updates and extends the work of these earlier studies by addressing a neglected but essential actor in white collar sentencing outcomes – the prosecutor. Specifically, using data from the Federal Justice Statistics Program, I explore the extent to which current sentencing and criminal justice decision-making theories can be used to explain prosecutorial decisions in the processing of both individual and corporate offenders. This research is part of a broader project to bridge the long tradition of sentencing studies of white collar crime with the latest theories and methods in sentencing research, and implications for later stages of the criminal justice system will be discussed.

Author

• Miranda A. Galvin, University of Maryland