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There are criminal antitrust cases[1], but they are hard to win. From "Why Does the Antitrust Division Keep Losing Criminal Trials?"[2]: > Even in the best of

by js2 2y ago

There are criminal antitrust cases[1], but they are hard to win. From "Why Does the Antitrust Division Keep Losing Criminal Trials?"[2]: > Even in the best of circumstances, prosecuting criminal antitrust cases can be challenging. They require a deep understanding of a particular market and proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants entered into an illegal agreement. His- torically, the Division relied on multiple witnesses to testify that an agreement, or “meeting of the minds,” existed. There is often a thin line between lawful information-gathering and unlawful price-fixing, making it difficult for jurors to understand what, exactly, constitutes criminal conduct. One former Antitrust Division attorney went so far as to say that juries “don’t like to convict in antitrust cases” because they view violations as “technical.” Another recalled seeing jurors appear shocked when they learned during trial testimony that an antitrust conviction carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. An attorney who interviewed jurors after one trial said that some jurors expressed anger that the Division was expending resources to prosecute these cases at all. [1] https://www.justice.gov/atr/criminal-enforcement-fine-and-jail-charts https://www.justice.gov/atr/criminal-enforcement-fine-and-ja... [2] https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/antitrust/magazine/2024/vol-38-issue-2/why-does-antitrust-division-keep-losing.pdf https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/ant...

Animats 2y ago
That's a great article. Most of the problems mentioned don't apply to landlord price-fixing. That's an issue jurors can understand. There's a large class of identifiable victims. The collusion is easy to show.
treyd 2y ago
It feels like antitrust law needs an update now that we have computers that let us move the collusion one degree away fairly easily. It's still price fixing even if you don't know the names of the parties you're collaborating with.

by js2 2y ago

Animats 2y ago

That's a great article. Most of the problems mentioned don't apply to landlord price-fixing. That's an issue jurors can understand. There's a large class of identifiable victims. The collusion is easy to show.

treyd 2y ago

It feels like antitrust law needs an update now that we have computers that let us move the collusion one degree away fairly easily. It's still price fixing even if you don't know the names of the parties you're collaborating with.