Journal article
FUNCTIONAL CORPORATE KNOWLEDGE
William and Mary law review, Vol.61(2), p.319
11/01/2019
Abstract
The line between guilt and innocence often turns on what a defendant knew. Although the law's approach to knowledge may be relatively straightforward for individuals, its doctrines for corporate defendants are fraught with ambiguity and opportunities for gamesmanship. Corporations can spread information thinly across employees so that it is never "known. "And, prosecutors can exploit legal uncertainties to bring knowledge-based charges where corporations were merely negligent in how they handled information. Whereas knowledge as a mens rea has unique practical and normative properties that vary with a corporations size and industry, corporate law treats knowledge just like any other mental state and uses the same doctrine for all corporations. Commentators dissatisfied with that doctrine have overlooked an obvious resource: social epistemology (the formal study of group knowledge states). As a result, commentators have missed a crucial distinction--between knowledge and information--at the root of ambiguities and inefficiencies in the law and proposed reforms.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- FUNCTIONAL CORPORATE KNOWLEDGE
- Creators
- Mihailis E Diamantis
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- William and Mary law review, Vol.61(2), p.319
- Publisher
- College of William and Mary, Marshall Wythe School of Law
- ISSN
- 0043-5589
- eISSN
- 2374-8524
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 11/01/2019
- Description audience
- Professional; Academic
- Academic Unit
- Law Faculty; Philosophy
- Record Identifier
- 9984398410602771
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