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What's the worst that could happen for any of these companies or their senior executives if they refuse to cooperate? Most corporate criminal penalties we hear

What's the worst that could happen for any of these companies or their senior executives if they refuse to cooperate? Most corporate criminal penalties we hear about these days have become minor costs of doing business. And it's not like the olden days where senior execs often ended up in jail for corporate wrongdoing.[0] The largest monetary criminal penalty I could find after a quick search was the 2013 settlement between JP Morgan and the Justice Department for $13 billion.[1] That's about 25% of Apple's net income last year, hardly a death sentence. EDIT: I am not a lawyer so I'd appreciate any insight on this question. [0]: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/business/in-corporate-crimes-individual-accountability-is-elusive.html http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/business/in-corporate-crim... [1]: http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/06/23/a-list-of-the-biggest-bank-settlements/ http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2014/06/23/a-list-of-the-bigg...

callmeed 11y ago
Why do you assume the penalty would only be monetary?
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- odbol_ 11y ago
  Who would they throw in jail? Tim Cook? Continuing on down the line until Apple has 0 employees?
  - regecks 11y ago
    At some point Apple will act to protect their own employees...
    - danieldk 11y ago
      I am not sure how realistic this is, but couldn't they move relevant parts of their business overseas? E.g., hardware and software development still happens in the US, but updates are vetted and signed by a separate entity in a privacy-friendly country? The US could block iPhone sales, though I think the probability of that happening is extremely low, since it would have a major economic impact.
Veratyr 11y ago
I'm not a lawyer but the powers of Federal court are very broad when it comes to contempt: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/401 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/401 http://www.bafirm.com/publication/federal-contempt-of-court/ http://www.bafirm.com/publication/federal-contempt-of-court/ From the law: "A court of the United States shall have power to punish by fine or imprisonment, or both, at its discretion [contempt of court]" From the article: - "While § 401 specifies neither the minimum nor maximum penalty that may be imposed, it does prohibit a federal judge from legally imposing both a fine and a sentence of imprisonment." - "Although there is no statutory maximum limit regulating the amount of time a contemnor can be ordered to spend in confinement, the requirement that a jury trial be granted in criminal contempt cases involving sentences over six months in jail acts as a check on this power." - "In turn, Section 2X5.1 states that the court should apply “the most analogous offense guideline.” As a result, a court will be required to make a highly fact-specific inquiry when determining the appropriate punitive sentence. As an example, courts have equated the refusal of a witness to testify with all of the following: Obstruction of Justice; Misprison of Felony; and Failure to Appear by Material Witness." While the powers of the court aren't unlimited, they could certainly damage Apple to force it to comply, since there's no hard limit on the penalties that can be imposed and Apple continually refusing to comply could justify harsher and harsher penalties.

callmeed 11y ago

Why do you assume the penalty would only be monetary?

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
odbol_ 11y ago
Who would they throw in jail? Tim Cook? Continuing on down the line until Apple has 0 employees?
- regecks 11y ago
  At some point Apple will act to protect their own employees...
  - danieldk 11y ago
    I am not sure how realistic this is, but couldn't they move relevant parts of their business overseas? E.g., hardware and software development still happens in the US, but updates are vetted and signed by a separate entity in a privacy-friendly country? The US could block iPhone sales, though I think the probability of that happening is extremely low, since it would have a major economic impact.

Veratyr 11y ago

I'm not a lawyer but the powers of Federal court are very broad when it comes to contempt: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/401 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/401 http://www.bafirm.com/publication/federal-contempt-of-court/ http://www.bafirm.com/publication/federal-contempt-of-court/ From the law: "A court of the United States shall have power to punish by fine or imprisonment, or both, at its discretion [contempt of court]" From the article: - "While § 401 specifies neither the minimum nor maximum penalty that may be imposed, it does prohibit a federal judge from legally imposing both a fine and a sentence of imprisonment." - "Although there is no statutory maximum limit regulating the amount of time a contemnor can be ordered to spend in confinement, the requirement that a jury trial be granted in criminal contempt cases involving sentences over six months in jail acts as a check on this power." - "In turn, Section 2X5.1 states that the court should apply “the most analogous offense guideline.” As a result, a court will be required to make a highly fact-specific inquiry when determining the appropriate punitive sentence. As an example, courts have equated the refusal of a witness to testify with all of the following: Obstruction of Justice; Misprison of Felony; and Failure to Appear by Material Witness." While the powers of the court aren't unlimited, they could certainly damage Apple to force it to comply, since there's no hard limit on the penalties that can be imposed and Apple continually refusing to comply could justify harsher and harsher penalties.