The corporate advantage: A study of the involvement of corporate and individual victims in a criminal justice system

John Hagan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

The legal conceptualization of corporate entities as juristic persons has both obscured and enhanced their influence in the criminal justice process. We point to several consequences of this influence: greater success of corporate than individual actors in getting individual offenders convicted, greater formal equality in the treatment of individuals prosecuted for crimes against corporate than individual victims, and greater satisfaction of corporate than individual victims with their experiences in the criminal justice system. We discuss the apparent paradox that an increase in formal equality may accompany higher rates of conviction for individuals accused of crimes against “juristic persons,” and emphasize the important advantages a formal rational system of criminal law can provide these corporate entities. Making the role of corporate entities explicit is one way of adding a structural dimension that is lacking in contemporary criminal justice research.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)993-1022
Number of pages30
JournalSocial Forces
Volume60
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1982

Funding

*Presented at the 1980 meetings of the American Sociological Association. I wish to express my gratitude to the Ministry of the Solicitor General of Canada for providing financial support for this study. The views expressed in this paper are my own and are not intended to represent the views of the Solicitor General of Canada.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • History
  • Anthropology
  • Sociology and Political Science

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