Setting Limits on Mass Conviction

For the past several years, the Collateral Consequences Resource Center has been documenting the emergence of an extraordinary legislative trend in the states that is aimed at helping individuals overcome the adverse consequences of a criminal record. It appears that lawmakers are at last recognizing the economic disadvantages of having burdened almost a third of the adult population with some sort of criminal record, the product of a vast expansion of criminal prosecutions over the past thirty years.

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Updated DOJ Criminal Division Guidance on the “Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs”

On April 30, 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”), Criminal Division, released updated guidance to DOJ prosecutors on how to assess corporate compliance programs when conducting an investigation, in making charging decisions, and in negotiating resolutions. This guidance emphasizes DOJ’s laser focus on compliance programs, requiring companies under investigation to carefully evaluate, test, and likely upgrade their programs well before the investigation is over.

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