U.S. eases its tactics on suspect firms

[Jcrowley]

U.S. eases its tactics on suspect firms
The new policy limits prosecutors' demands in corporate fraud cases. It revises methods put in place since Enron and other scandals.
By Jonathan Peterson and Kathy M. Kristof, Times Staff Writers
December 13, 2006

WASHINGTON — Federal prosecutors are backing away from some of the aggressive tactics they have employed against corporate crime amid growing criticism that their methods have trampled on the rights of white-collar defendants.

Prosecutors will largely refrain from demanding that companies refuse to pay for the legal defense of executives who are under investigation, and significantly limit their demands for privileged attorney-client communications, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

The new policy softens guidelines that the Justice Department put into place in 2003 as government attorneys prosecuted fraud at Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc. and other firms. Although the government has been largely successful in its crackdown on corporate crime, its tactics drew rebukes across the political spectrum.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-crime13dec13,0,4375878.story?coll=la-home-business

[stillcool]

1. wow...guess they've got to..

make hay while the sun shines..

[TomInTib]

2. I read this earlier today in NYTimes

Absolutely outrageous.

But what else would we expect?