Quote:
Originally Posted by cfrizz
The Feds have no one to prosecute because the guilty parties almost always settle for paying out a big chunk of money to make the whole thing go away supposedly without admitting guilt. But the fact they are settling pretty much means they know they are guilty and if found to be so at trial, would cost them a whole lot more than what they settled for.
Of course there are exceptions like Apple, who was found guilty anyway and now will be under scrutiny for years to come.  |
No, they settle because it's cheaper and less risky to settle than to take it to trial. One never knows how a jury or judge is going to decide, which is why the vast majority of cases, both criminal and civil are settled before coming to trial. It's a racket that prosecutors have run for years, both on the Federal as well as the local levels. It's actually not unknown for a defense attorney to tell an innocent client to take a plea bargain as long as it doesn't involve actual jail time because of this.
There really is no downside for the prosecutors. First you go for the shake down. Have a big press conference announcing the accusations, make sure that you accuse them of anything and everything you can with the hopes that at least something will stick. If the company doesn't settle, then they let things drag out. If it becomes apparent that the judge is skeptical of your claims, then just quietly drop the case and move on. If the judge buys into your narration, then you get a major object lesson to intimidate the next target with. No matter which, you win. People remember the initial press conference and you get to move up the political ladder.
Every so often a judge gets wise and throws the case out of court with a blistering rebuke to the prosecutor, but even then, there is little actual downside for the prosecutor.
There are plenty of honest prosecutors out there, but the vast majority of major cases with big press conferences have little to do with justice or actual crimes being committed.