In 2005, Serono Inc. pleaded guilty to federal felony offenses and paid, with its shareholders, more than $700 million in criminal and civil penalties, yet all of its employees accused of criminal misconduct were subsequently acquitted. Similarly, TAP Pharmaceutical Products Inc. pleaded guilty to federal felony offenses and paid more than $800 million in criminal and civil penalties, yet the allegedly culpable employees were acquitted by a jury or had the charges dismissed by a federal judge.
Something is amiss. These results are no accident, and what is wrong is of a constitutional dimension. Indeed, these cases provide a window into what ails corporate criminal dispute resolution in 21st century America: a creeping erosion of any meaningful corporate jury-trial right.
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