Peter Yeager | Boston University (original) (raw)

Papers by Peter Yeager

Research paper thumbnail of Law versus Justice: From Adversarialism to Communitarianism

Law and Social Inquiry-journal of The American Bar Foundation, Oct 1, 2004

... very thoughtfully takes up a number of challenges that may undermine the promise of RJ ... Br... more ... very thoughtfully takes up a number of challenges that may undermine the promise of RJ ... Braithwaite elaborated on this point in an earlier book with Philip Pettit, Not Just Deserts ... and prosecution for those small numbers of chronic offenders who resist the restorative justice option ...

Research paper thumbnail of Illegal Corporate Behavior, 1975-1976

ICPSR Data Holdings, Mar 18, 1984

Research paper thumbnail of Antitrust: Policy and Politics

Research paper thumbnail of Combating Corporate Crime: Local Prosecutors at Work

Contemporary Sociology, Mar 1, 2000

While most believe that white-collar crime is prosecuted only by federal agencies, local prosecut... more While most believe that white-collar crime is prosecuted only by federal agencies, local prosecutors are playing an increasingly important role in the social control of corporate violators. Yet many are reluctant to take legal action at the local level because such cases often entail unique challenges and difficulties. Michael L. Benson and Francis T. Cullen present exhaustive research that combines quantitative data on cases with qualitative information on the procedural and legal constraints facing local enforcement. Drawing on extensive interviews, they investigate how local prosecutors respond to corporate crime (or whether they do at all) within a community context. As watchdogs of community morals, district attorneys and others decide which lawbreakers to pursue, but as elected public servants they may hesitate to indict companies on whose stability the community depends. Factors such as population size, region, crime rate, economic conditions, and legal culture influence a community's attitude toward corporate crime, which, in turn, influences the decision to prosecute. The authors also show that questions concerning jurisdiction, resource allocation, or appropriate punishment may dissuade local prosecutors from pursuing some cases. They address the limitations of the federal government in prosecuting corporate crime and offer suggestions to facilitate more positive action at the local level, including better access to laboratories, more information exchange and networking, and improved training. An insightful work on a too-long neglected aspect of white-collar crime, this is essential reading not only for students of criminal justice and public administration butalso for practitioners who confront these special problems and obstacles every day.

Research paper thumbnail of The Elusive Deterrence of Corporate Crime

Criminology and public policy, Mar 21, 2016

G iven the high manifest costs of corporate crime-to say nothing of its less apparent ones 1-it s... more G iven the high manifest costs of corporate crime-to say nothing of its less apparent ones 1-it should be surprising how little we know scientifically (hence, confidently) about how best to deter or limit it. As an idea, the concept of deterrence is straightforward: Unwanted behaviors can be reduced in number if the costs of the acts are greater than their benefits, assuming that the decision maker is rational and the costs are imposed reliably and swiftly. And it has long been conventionally thought that corporate crimes should be among the most deterrable offenses because corporations are designed as quintessentially rational organizations built to pursue the highest gains (profits and market share) and to minimize their costs in the pursuit. Moreover, corporate executives should be especially sensitive to punishment threats from fear of losing their high status, income, and reputations. Although corporate behavior is certainly oriented to perceived risks and rewards, it is less sensitive to the law's conventional sanctioning threats than the classic model of deterrence would suggest (Simpson, 2002; Yeager, 2007), a point first detailed by the legal scholar Christopher Stone in his book, Where the Law Ends (1975). In that classic text, he outlined a central irony: The complexities of a corporate organization put more responsibility on the law to limit business crimes than it bears for conventional crimes, 2 while making it more difficult for the law to meet this burden (Yeager, 2016). I shall have more to say about this dynamic in the following pages.

Research paper thumbnail of The Limits of Law: On Chambliss & Seidman's "Law, Order and Power

American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1983

Research paper thumbnail of Wal-Mart Wars: Moral Populism in the Twenty-First Century

Political Science Quarterly, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of 11. Law, Crime, and Inequality: The Regulatory State

Stanford University Press eBooks, Jun 1, 1995

Research paper thumbnail of The Limits of Law

Research paper thumbnail of Clinard, Marshall (1911-2010)

Research paper thumbnail of Corporate Executives and Criminal Liability

Research paper thumbnail of The Growth and Development of the Corporation

Research paper thumbnail of Political Contributions, Bribery, and Foreign Payoffs

Research paper thumbnail of Illegalities and the Accounting Profession

Research paper thumbnail of Legislating clean water: changing conceptions of environmental rights

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 25, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of Ecology, economy, and the evolution of limits

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 25, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of Contradiction and change: environmental consciousness and the mobilization of law

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 25, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of The social production of business offenses

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 25, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of Limits of Law: The Public Regulation of Private Pollution

Research paper thumbnail of Psychosocial Effects of Hazardous Toxic Waste Disposal in Communities. Edited by Dennis L. Peck. Charles C. Thomas, 1989. 317 pp. $52.75

Social Forces, Dec 1, 1993

Research paper thumbnail of Law versus Justice: From Adversarialism to Communitarianism

Law and Social Inquiry-journal of The American Bar Foundation, Oct 1, 2004

... very thoughtfully takes up a number of challenges that may undermine the promise of RJ ... Br... more ... very thoughtfully takes up a number of challenges that may undermine the promise of RJ ... Braithwaite elaborated on this point in an earlier book with Philip Pettit, Not Just Deserts ... and prosecution for those small numbers of chronic offenders who resist the restorative justice option ...

Research paper thumbnail of Illegal Corporate Behavior, 1975-1976

ICPSR Data Holdings, Mar 18, 1984

Research paper thumbnail of Antitrust: Policy and Politics

Research paper thumbnail of Combating Corporate Crime: Local Prosecutors at Work

Contemporary Sociology, Mar 1, 2000

While most believe that white-collar crime is prosecuted only by federal agencies, local prosecut... more While most believe that white-collar crime is prosecuted only by federal agencies, local prosecutors are playing an increasingly important role in the social control of corporate violators. Yet many are reluctant to take legal action at the local level because such cases often entail unique challenges and difficulties. Michael L. Benson and Francis T. Cullen present exhaustive research that combines quantitative data on cases with qualitative information on the procedural and legal constraints facing local enforcement. Drawing on extensive interviews, they investigate how local prosecutors respond to corporate crime (or whether they do at all) within a community context. As watchdogs of community morals, district attorneys and others decide which lawbreakers to pursue, but as elected public servants they may hesitate to indict companies on whose stability the community depends. Factors such as population size, region, crime rate, economic conditions, and legal culture influence a community's attitude toward corporate crime, which, in turn, influences the decision to prosecute. The authors also show that questions concerning jurisdiction, resource allocation, or appropriate punishment may dissuade local prosecutors from pursuing some cases. They address the limitations of the federal government in prosecuting corporate crime and offer suggestions to facilitate more positive action at the local level, including better access to laboratories, more information exchange and networking, and improved training. An insightful work on a too-long neglected aspect of white-collar crime, this is essential reading not only for students of criminal justice and public administration butalso for practitioners who confront these special problems and obstacles every day.

Research paper thumbnail of The Elusive Deterrence of Corporate Crime

Criminology and public policy, Mar 21, 2016

G iven the high manifest costs of corporate crime-to say nothing of its less apparent ones 1-it s... more G iven the high manifest costs of corporate crime-to say nothing of its less apparent ones 1-it should be surprising how little we know scientifically (hence, confidently) about how best to deter or limit it. As an idea, the concept of deterrence is straightforward: Unwanted behaviors can be reduced in number if the costs of the acts are greater than their benefits, assuming that the decision maker is rational and the costs are imposed reliably and swiftly. And it has long been conventionally thought that corporate crimes should be among the most deterrable offenses because corporations are designed as quintessentially rational organizations built to pursue the highest gains (profits and market share) and to minimize their costs in the pursuit. Moreover, corporate executives should be especially sensitive to punishment threats from fear of losing their high status, income, and reputations. Although corporate behavior is certainly oriented to perceived risks and rewards, it is less sensitive to the law's conventional sanctioning threats than the classic model of deterrence would suggest (Simpson, 2002; Yeager, 2007), a point first detailed by the legal scholar Christopher Stone in his book, Where the Law Ends (1975). In that classic text, he outlined a central irony: The complexities of a corporate organization put more responsibility on the law to limit business crimes than it bears for conventional crimes, 2 while making it more difficult for the law to meet this burden (Yeager, 2016). I shall have more to say about this dynamic in the following pages.

Research paper thumbnail of The Limits of Law: On Chambliss & Seidman's "Law, Order and Power

American Bar Foundation Research Journal, 1983

Research paper thumbnail of Wal-Mart Wars: Moral Populism in the Twenty-First Century

Political Science Quarterly, 2014

Research paper thumbnail of 11. Law, Crime, and Inequality: The Regulatory State

Stanford University Press eBooks, Jun 1, 1995

Research paper thumbnail of The Limits of Law

Research paper thumbnail of Clinard, Marshall (1911-2010)

Research paper thumbnail of Corporate Executives and Criminal Liability

Research paper thumbnail of The Growth and Development of the Corporation

Research paper thumbnail of Political Contributions, Bribery, and Foreign Payoffs

Research paper thumbnail of Illegalities and the Accounting Profession

Research paper thumbnail of Legislating clean water: changing conceptions of environmental rights

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 25, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of Ecology, economy, and the evolution of limits

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 25, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of Contradiction and change: environmental consciousness and the mobilization of law

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 25, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of The social production of business offenses

Cambridge University Press eBooks, Jan 25, 1991

Research paper thumbnail of Limits of Law: The Public Regulation of Private Pollution

Research paper thumbnail of Psychosocial Effects of Hazardous Toxic Waste Disposal in Communities. Edited by Dennis L. Peck. Charles C. Thomas, 1989. 317 pp. $52.75

Social Forces, Dec 1, 1993