Definitions of keywords
Crime
A crime could be defined to be a violation of civilized behaviors, as a direct result of which injury is bestowed upon public, or members of the public. It is the omission or commission of acts to do or not to do, certain work whose omission or commission causes harm to others, and as such is punishable by the due processes of law. The punishment of crimes commensurate with its nature, surroundings and circumstances, which underline the mode of its commission and behavioral patterns and psyche of its perpetrators.
Felony
A more serious variety of crime is called felony, which is sufficiently serious to award capital sentence, or wide ranging term sentences, upon conviction in Federal prisons. It could also be termed for sentences of less than one year, depending upon discretionary powers exercised by the judge.
High crimes are often termed as felonies and often require constitutional intervention.
Misdemeanor
A minor kind of crimes, which results in detention in county or local jails, under the jurisdiction of local law enforcement authorities constitutes misdemeanors. “Misdemeanors typically result in imposition of such punishments as a heavier fine than what someone would pay if they committed a petty offense, or a jail sentence not exceeding a year.” (Law info: Felonies and Misdemeanors –criminal lawyers).
A person or entity could be convicted in either one or a variety of crimes encompassing felony or misdemeanors.
In this case, there are two aspects to be considered. Firstly, the determination of the level of crime on the Company itself, and secondly, the type of crime that could be leveled on its principal officers guilty of criminal misfeasance.
Determination of crime level of the Company itself
It is seen that the crime committed by M/s. Reliant Energy Services Inc. relates to criminal manipulation of energy by shutting down the power supply, creating artificial scarcity and exploiting public sentiment by hiking up energy prices for illegal profit making.
This would fall under the category of public fraud and be termed as felony, since the basic intention was to defraud the public into paying higher prices. There are also enough ground to suggest Charging Conspiracy, Commodities Manipulation and Wire Fraud on the Company. (Reliant energy services, 2004).
Determination of crime level of the four officers
The four officers are guilty of criminal charges leveled against them, According to the criminal indictment, the defendants hatched a conspiratorial scheme to cheat the California electricity market and its utility users and too illegally, control and stage-manage the price of electricity in California.
According to the prosecution the defendants would have to stand trial for “conspiracy to commit wire fraud and commodities manipulation, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; wire fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343; and manipulation and attempted manipulation of the price of a commodity in interstate commerce, in violation of 7 U.S.C. § 13(a) (2).” (Reliant energy services, 2004).
Difficulties that may be encountered while charging a company
Charging a corporate body is not as easy as it may appear prima facie. This is primarily because there may be several procedural difficulties while investigation corporate crimes and wrongdoings due to the following reasons:
- Given the hierarchical pattern of modern business functioning, It may be difficult to establish which officers, or executives have initiated actions for the sake of the Company and the modus operandi of such operations.
- Relevant records may be difficult to locate since they may be in other locations of the USA, and in certain cases, even outside the USA.
- During the long drawn currency of investigative proceedings, many of the concerned officials may not be available.
Thus, the co-operation of the suspect company with the investigative agencies is imperative for achieving breakthroughs, which, in certain cases may be slow or not forthcoming. “A corporation should not be able to escape liability merely by offering up its directors, officers, employees, or agents as in lieu of its own prosecution. Thus, a corporation’s willingness to cooperate is merely one relevant factor that needs to be considered in conjunction with the other factors, particularly those relating to the corporation’s past history and the role of management in the wrongdoing.” (Thompson, 2003).
References
Felonies and Misdemeanors –criminal lawyers: Felonies & Misdemeanors. Misdemeanor. Law info. 2008. Web.
Reliant energy services, Inc. and four of its officers charged with criminal manipulation of California electricity market. (2004). Department of Justice. 2008. Web.
Thompson, Larry D. (2003). VI. Charging a Corporation: Co-operation and Voluntary Disclosure. United States Department of Justice: Office of the District Attorney General. 2008.