White Collar Crime

This course examines state and federal efforts to enforce morality and policy in commercial activity through criminal sanctions. It explores the metamorphosis of the mail and wire fraud statues then examines the RICO statutes' use as the prosecutor's ultimate weapon. The seminar also considers the problems confronted by prosecutors and practitioners whose clients are the subject of investigation and prosecution for a white collar offense, focusing on the powers of the grand jury and other investigative bodies, sentencing issues under the federal guidelines, and the dilemma posed when the client is the subject of parallel civil and criminal proceedings involving the same matters. Guest lecturers will be recruited from current prosecutors, agents, and defense attorneys.