The use of criminal sanctions against corporations is well established

Question

The use of criminal sanctions against corporations
is well established, but the practice has recently come
under fire from legal theorists who maintain that
corporations should be held civilly rather than criminally
  (5)   liable for wrongdoing. Civil liability, these theorists
argue, shares important features with criminal liability:
both impose punishment on a company, both aim at
deterrence, and both degrade a company’s reputation.
Yet, they claim, civil liability is better able to determine
  (10)   appropriate levels of damages. Furthermore, because
criminal liability causes a greater loss of reputation, its
overall cost to corporations is far higher than that of civil
liability; this additional cost is borne by society at large
in the form of higher product prices. Finally, civil
  (15)   liability is also more cost-effective from the point of
view of the government: the greater procedural
protections of criminal law make deterrence through
criminal prosecution extremely expensive.

Even if it is less economical, however, criminal
  (20)   liability is a much stronger deterrent. The considerable
enforcement powers involved, including the ability to
detain and question corporate officials, are themselves
significant deterrents. Furthermore, the fact that private
civil litigation requires an identifiable victim with the
  (25)   necessary resources to commence litigation weakens
its deterrent impact. Most importantly, the main function of
criminal law is to censure wrongdoing and to emphasize
that society forcefully rejects such conduct. Civil liability
is ill suited for this purpose.

(30)   Other legal theorists who do not object to criminal
sanctions per se argue that individuals within
corporations, rather than corporations themselves, are the
appropriate target of criminal prosecution in cases
involving corporate wrongdoing. They maintain that
  (35)   individuals within corporations are more responsive to
deterrence because they generally fear prosecution and
the loss of employment that can result from it.
Additionally, they say, punishment of a corporation, in
the form of a fine, essentially punishes shareholders,
  (40)   creditors, employees who may be laid off, and ulti-
mately the public, which is forced to absorb higher prices.

However, this approach is also misguided. 
Corporations often bury responsibility within complex
hierarchies, with the result that no individual responsible
  (45)   for corporate misdeeds can be identified. Another
problem is that under this approach, a corporation will
often find it cheaper to designate and compensate an
internal scapegoat to face prosecution than to refrain
from wrongdoing. The most effective way to ensure that
  (50)   corporations improve their practices is to hold
corporations themselves criminally liable for their
conduct. Indeed, criminal liability works on shareholders
as well as corporate officers and employees: because
criminal punishment of corporations decreases their
  (55)   wealth, it can motivate shareholders to push for better
corporate practices. Arguments that shareholders and
employees need economic protection are outweighed by
the greater societal interest in ensuring the safety of
employees, the public, and the environment.    1 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) Although the use of criminal sanctions against corporations has recently faced criticism, it remains the most effective way of deterring corporate wrongdoing.
(B) While civil sanctions against corporations would be more cost-effective than criminal sanctions, it is difficult to identify victims of corporate wrongdoing who have the resources to file civil suits.
(C) Neither civil sanctions against corporations nor criminal sanctions against individuals within corporations are capable of deterring corporate wrongdoing.
(D) The best way to ensure that corporations improve their practices is to use criminal sanctions against both corporations and individuals within corporations.
(E) The use of criminal sanctions against individuals within corporations is preferable to the use of civil sanctions because the latter fails to censure wrongdoing adequately.

2 
 2. Which one of the following most accurately describes the author’s purpose in saying that corporations often bury responsibility within complex hierarchies?

(A) to explain why corporations might find it advantageous to appoint an internal scapegoat
(B) to highlight the reasons why individuals are, according to critics of corporate criminal liability, more responsive to deterrence
(C) to underscore the extent to which corporate criminal liability penalizes certain people unfairly
(D) to indicate that the proposal that individuals be subject to criminal liability for corporate wrongdoing is likely to be impracticable
(E) to suggest that critics of criminal corporate liability have misunderstood the legal definition of criminal liability

3 
 3. It can be inferred from the passage that legal theorists who recommend the use of civil rather than criminal sanctions to combat corporate wrongdoing believe that

(A) corporate criminal liability provides no incentive for individual corporate employees to refrain from wrongdoing
(B) there are more procedural protections in criminal law than there should be
(C) censuring wrongdoing is not the main function of criminal law
(D) the costs inflicted on corporations by criminal convictions are inappropriately high in most cases
(E) in most cases civil sanctions against a corporation do not harm that corporation’s reputation

4 
 4. Which one of the following does the author of the passage assert to be true?

(A) Civil liability is better able to assess appropriate levels of damages.
(B) Employees are just as likely to be harmed by civil sanctions against a corporation as by criminal sanctions.
(C) Deterrence is the main aim of both criminal and civil liability.
(D) Individuals within corporations are more easily deterred from wrongdoing than are corporations themselves.
(E) Private civil litigation against a corporation cannot occur without an identifiable victim.

5 
 5. It can be inferred from the passage that those who support the criminal prosecution of individuals within corporations rather than the criminal prosecution of corporations believe that

(A) shareholders generally do not have the power to influence a corporation to refrain from wrongdoing
(B) corporate employees have incentive to refrain from wrongdoing only if they are subject to individual criminal prosecution
(C) it is more difficult to prosecute a corporation for wrongdoing than it is to prosecute an individual within that corporation
(D) it is unjust for the public to have to pay, through higher product prices, the costs incurred by a corporation as a result of criminal prosecution
(E) corporate wrongdoing rarely harms an identifiable victim with the resources necessary to sue

6 
 6. Suppose a corporation has for decades polluted a river on which a major city is located with toxic waste known to increase the incidence of certain forms of cancer. Which one of the following scenarios would most closely conform to the author’s views regarding how corporate wrongdoing is most effectively addressed?

(A) In response to criminal prosecution of the corporation, several of the corporation’s shareholders put pressure on the corporation’s board of directors to ensure that the corporation will dispose of waste in an environmentally sound manner.
(B) In order to assist in civil litigation against the corporation, the federal government moves to expand the use of enforcement powers traditionally reserved for criminal prosecution.
(C) The corporation’s largest shareholders are sued by several residents of the city who suffer from a form of cancer associated with the toxic waste dumped by the corporation.
(D) The city prosecutes the corporation’s top executives for violating several city ordinances when they ordered the dumping of toxic waste into the river.
(E) The city government and several residents of the city hold a press conference in which they attempt to undermine the reputation of the corporation and thereby pressure the corporation to change its practices.

7 
 7. The author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

(A) In many instances, corporations that are not deterred by the threat of criminal sanctions would be deterred by the threat of civil sanctions.
(B) The main function of civil liability is to punish harmful acts in cases where no individual responsible for corporate misdeeds can be identified.
(C) Currently, corporations are more often subject to civil litigation than to criminal prosecution.
(D) Many people who criticize the use of criminal sanctions to deter corporate wrongdoing believe that such wrongdoing seldom causes harm to individuals.
(E) In a significant number of cases, corporations engage in wrongdoing that does not harm anyone with sufficient resources to sue.

RC Butler 2023  -  Practice Two RC Passages Everyday.   
Passage # 79 Date: 28-Mar-2023
 This question is a part of RC Butler 2023 .  Click here for Details

Source:   LSAT Official PrepTest 90   
 Difficulty Level:   700

Putup577 · Answer

May I have your advice about questions no 4 and 7?

Q4 : In the 1st paragraph states that "Civil liability, these theorists argue, shares important features with criminal liability: both impose punishment on a company, both aim at deterrence ", Why C is incorrect?

Q7 : cannot find the statement in the passage which refer to In a significant number of cases.

DmitryFarber · Answer

Putup577

Q4: The portion you cited doesn't tell us anything about what the  main  function of criminal law is. In paragraph 2, the author does say that censuring wrongdoing is the main function of criminal law, but that doesn't mean that the legal theorists in p1 would disagree.

Q7: They don't need to specifically state that the number of cases is significant, as long as we can infer this from the text. P2 says that the need for a victim with resources weakens the deterrent impact of civil litigation. This means that because of this requirement, corporations aren't as deterred as they should be from committing wrongdoing. Why? It must not be too terribly rare that no one with the resources is able to sue. If there were almost always someone available to sue, then the deterrent effect of civil litigation would not be weakened. E is the LSAT's very careful way of saying that there isn't ALWAYS someone who can sue.

Aishyk97 · Answer

Q4. C is incorrect. It is a 180 degree answer. In the fourth sentence of the second paragraph, the author states that censure, not deterrence, is the main function of criminal law. The author does not say what the main function of civil law is.

Q. 7 (E) is correct. According to the third sentence of the second paragraph, civil litigation requires an identifiable victim with proper resources to sue. However, the author feels that this requirement “weakens the deterrent impact” of civil litigation. If it’s not as good a deterrent, that suggests it’s relatively difficult to identify such a victim, as this answer indicates.

datta0712 · Answer

6. Suppose a corporation has for decades polluted a river on which a major city is located with toxic waste known to increase the incidence of certain forms of cancer. Which one of the following scenarios would most closely conform to the author’s views regarding how corporate wrongdoing is most effectively addressed?

(A) In response to criminal prosecution of the corporation, several of the corporation’s shareholders put pressure on the corporation’s board of directors to ensure that the corporation will dispose of waste in an environmentally sound manner.
(B) In order to assist in civil litigation against the corporation, the federal government moves to expand the use of enforcement powers traditionally reserved for criminal prosecution.
(C) The corporation’s largest shareholders are sued by several residents of the city who suffer from a form of cancer associated with the toxic waste dumped by the corporation.
(D) The city prosecutes the corporation’s top executives for violating several city ordinances when they ordered the dumping of toxic waste into the river.
(E) The city government and several residents of the city hold a press conference in which they attempt to undermine the reputation of the corporation and thereby pressure the corporation to change its practices.

(A) is correct. It is the only choice that mentions using criminal sanctions against the corporation. As for the part about shareholders putting pressure on the board of directors, this conforms to the author’s views in the fifth sentence of the last paragraph. The author claims that criminal prosecution can “motivate shareholders to push for better corporate practices.”

Raman109 · Answer

7. The author would be most likely to agree with which one of the following statements?

(A) In many instances, corporations that are not deterred by the threat of criminal sanctions would be deterred by the threat of civil sanctions. - opposite.

(B) The main function of civil liability is to punish harmful acts in cases where no individual responsible for corporate misdeeds can be identified. - opposite.

(C) Currently, corporations are more often subject to civil litigation than to criminal prosecution. - opposite at best as the criminal prosecution as per passage is well established.

(D) Many people who criticize the use of criminal sanctions to deter corporate wrongdoing believe that such wrongdoing seldom causes harm to individuals. - out of scope. The effect of corporate wrongdoing on individuals is out of scope.

(E) In a significant number of cases, corporations engage in wrongdoing that does not harm anyone with sufficient resources to sue. - Ok. The passage says, " Furthermore, the fact that private   civil litigation requires an identifiable victim with the   necessary resources to commence litigation weakens   its deterrent impact."

Raman109 · Answer

4. Which one of the following does the author of the passage assert to be true?

(A) Civil liability is better able to assess appropriate levels of damages. - claim of the theorists but not the author.

(B) Employees are just as likely to be harmed by civil sanctions against a corporation as by criminal sanctions. - out of scope.

(C) Deterrence is the main aim of both criminal and civil liability. - the main aim of either may not be just deterrence. For example, the main aim of criminal prosecution is to "censure wrongdoing and  emphasize   that society forcefully rejects such conduct. "

(D) Individuals within corporations are more easily deterred from wrongdoing than are corporations themselves. - No such clear comparison. Out of scope.

(E) Private civil litigation against a corporation cannot occur without an identifiable victim. - ok. The passage says, "The fact that private civil litigation requires an identifiable victim with the (25) necessary resources to commence litigation weakens its deterrent impact."

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The use of criminal sanctions against corporations is well established

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The use of criminal sanctions against corporations is well established

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