JM 5-11.114 – Individual and Corporate Defendants

A. Congress has demonstrated its intent that individuals, as well as corporations, should be criminally prosecuted for violations of federal environmental laws, see, e.g., 33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(6) and 1362(5), thereby recognizing the fact that the unlawful acts or omissions of corporations actually can be traced to individual officers or employees. That Congressional intent should be given serious consideration in the development of prosecutions for violations of the statutes identified under JM 5-11.101. See JM Chapter 9.28.000 for specific guidance on federal prosecution of business organizations.
B. In any case against both a corporation and any of its individual employees the willingness of the offending corporation to enter a guilty plea is not a basis for declining to prosecute an individual. See also JM 9-16.050.
C. EPA and the Department of Justice have adopted policies that may affect cases involving voluntary disclosure, cooperation, and compliance by potential defendants. Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction and Prevention of Violations, 70 Fed. Reg. 19618 (Apr. 11, 2000); Department of Justice, Factors in Decisions on Criminal Prosecutions for Environmental Violations in the Context of Significant Voluntary Compliance or Disclosure Efforts by the Violator (July 1, 1991), available at https://www.justice.gov/enrd/factors-decisions-criminal-prosecutions-environmental-violations-context-significant-voluntary.

[updated April 2018]

A. Congress has demonstrated its intent that individuals, as well as corporations, should be criminally prosecuted for violations of federal environmental laws, see, e.g., 33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(6) and 1362(5), thereby recognizing the fact that the unlawful acts or omissions of corporations actually can be traced to individual officers or employees. That Congressional intent should be given serious consideration in the development of prosecutions for violations of the statutes identified under JM 5-11.101. See JM Chapter 9.28.000 for specific guidance on federal prosecution of business organizations.
B. In any case against both a corporation and any of its individual employees the willingness of the offending corporation to enter a guilty plea is not a basis for declining to prosecute an individual. See also JM 9-16.050.
C. EPA and the Department of Justice have adopted policies that may affect cases involving voluntary disclosure, cooperation, and compliance by potential defendants. Incentives for Self-Policing: Discovery, Disclosure, Correction and Prevention of Violations, 70 Fed. Reg. 19618 (Apr. 11, 2000); Department of Justice, Factors in Decisions on Criminal Prosecutions for Environmental Violations in the Context of Significant Voluntary Compliance or Disclosure Efforts by the Violator (July 1, 1991), available at https://www.justice.gov/enrd/factors-decisions-criminal-prosecutions-environmental-violations-context-significant-voluntary.

[updated April 2018]

§ 5-11.114