Creating an Environmental Ethic in Corporate America: The Big Stick of Jail Time

By: Frederick W. Addison, III
Southwestern Law Journal
Spring 1991

CONVICTION and incarceration for environmental offenses? Not long ago this would have been virtually unheard of, with the most egregious conduct extracting no more than a slap on the wrist and a nominal fine. [FN1] The prosecutorial climate has undoubtedly changed, however, and since the early 1980's courts have systematically addressed environmental offenses. As one congressman noted, “Criminal sanctions are more appropriate than EPA rule-making.  Criminal laws are tougher, more immutable and less subject to challenge once imposed.” [FN2]

The current legal climate is less tolerant of environmental offenses, as evidenced by more frequent prosecutions and more severe sanctions meted out by the federal judiciary. For example, in fiscal 1989, federal courts imposed prison terms totaling almost thirty seven years and $11.1 million in fines for environmental crimes, compared with less than two years of sentences and $198,000 in fines five years earlier. [FN3] Prosecutors hope more aggressive criminal enforcement and the threat of actually serving jail time will deter wouldbe violators. [FN4]

TO READ MORE, CLICK THE PDF ICON BELOW: